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ASTERN 


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EASTERN  Journeys 


SOME   NOTES   OF   TRAVEL 

IN   RUSSIA,    IN   THE   CAUCASUS, 

AND   TO  JERUSALEM 


BY 

CHARLES  A.   DANA 


NEW  YORK 

D.    APPLETON    AND    COMPANY 

1898 


StMVAIlUN 

V  ADDED  J]/f2S' 

5INALT0BE  -fly 

^iiMED  — " 

'  09  1994 


Copyright,  1898, 
By  D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANY. 


CONTENTS. 


RUSSIA  AND    THE  CAUCASUS. 

PAGB 

I.  Across  the  Four  Seas  to  Odessa  .        .      i 
II.  The  Russian  Riviera         .        .        .        -17 

III.  The  Southern  Aspects  of  the  Caucasus    34 

IV.  TiFLis  AND  Trans-Caucasia      .        .        .45 
V.  Through  the  Darial  Pass  to  Rostov  .    62 

VI.  Nijni,  the  New  City         .        .        .        .78 
VII.  Moscow  and  Warsaw       .        .       .        .87 

JERUSALEM, 

VIII.    How   TO   GET   there I07 

IX.  The  Holy  City 118 

X.  Bethlehem  and  Bethany  .       .       .       .138 


334224 


EASTERN   JOURNEYS. 


ACROSS   THE  FOUR   SEAS   TO 
ODESSA. 

It  was  a  beautiful  afternoon  in  May 
when  our  ship  steamed  out  of  the  har- 
bor of  Marseilles.  We  had  laid  out  an 
interesting-  scheme  of  travel,  and  we  were 
now  beginning  its  realization.  We  were 
going  through  the  Mediterranean,  stop- 
ping at  two  places  in  Greece,  thence  to 
Salonica  and  Constantinople,  and  from 
there  to  Odessa  in  Russia.  From  there 
by  ship  the  whole  length  of  the  Black 
Sea  to  Batoum,  thence  by  rail  to  Tiflis 
and  Baku  on  the  Caspian  Sea,  then  again 
by  rail  to  Samarcand  in  Turkestan,  and 
finally  back  from  Central  Asia  through 
European  Russia,  Poland,  and  Germany 


.2.--  ,'  ,--    EASTERN  JOURNEYS. 


.,;V2>^ 


to  the  Atlantic  again,  and  so  to  New 
York,  making  in  all  from  the  commence- 
ment to  the  end  a  journey  of  perhaps 
sixteen  thousand  miles. 

It  began  most  pleasantly,  and  so  it 
continued  to  the  close.  Not  a  single 
storm  of  any  importance,  not  a  mishap 
of  any  kind  came  to  interfere  with  our 
comfort.  It  is  true  we  were  not  able  to 
get  beyond  the  boundaries  of  trans-Cau- 
casia ;  but  that  was  due  to  the  tempora- 
ry breaking  up  of  the  mountain  railway 
between  Tiflis  and  Baku.  Apart  from 
that  we  were  able  to  carry  out  our  full 
plan,  and  in  due  time  we  found  ourselves 
safely  at  home  again  on  the  delightful 
borders  of  Long  Island  Sound. 

We  had  the  luck  to  pass  through  the 
Strait  of  Bonifacio,  which  separates  Cor- 
sica from  Sardinia,  in  full  daylight,  so 
that  we  could  see  fairly  the  extreme 
points  of  each  of  these  famous  islands. 
They  are  hilly  and  wooded  near  the 
strait,  and  one  could  not  help  wishing  to 


ACROSS  THE  FOUR   SEAS  TO  ODESSA,      3 

go  ashore  on  each  and  explore  the  whole 
interior.  Next  day  we  passed  among 
the  Lipari  Islands  and  saw  both  the  cra- 
ter of  Etna  and  the  smoking  cone  of 
Stromboli.  The  Strait  of  Messina,  be- 
tween Italy  and  Sicily,  we  reached  just 
as  the  twilight  was  coming  on,  and  the 
only  idea  we  could  gain  of  the  scenery 
was  from  the  vague  outlines  of  the 
heights  and  the  mass  of  twinkling  lights 
in  the  streets  and  houses  gleaming 
through  the  darkness  and  showing  the 
position  of  Messina. 

Charybdis  and  Scylla  are  passed  al- 
most without  noticing  either.  Yet,  we 
reflected,  a  whirlpool  which  could  make 
a  great  disturbance  and  danger  to  navi- 
gation in  the  time  of  Ulysses  might 
prove  only  a  trifle  to  a  modern  steamer 
of  six  thousand  tons. 

The  plan  of  our  voyage  included  two 
landings  in  Greece,  one  at  Kalamata  in 
the  ancient  Peloponnesus,  and  the  other 
at  Syra,  an  island  among  the  Cyclades. 


4  EA  STERN  JO  URNE  YS, 

We  were  very  glad  of  this  opportunity 
to  see  something  more  of  the  modern 
Greeks  and  of  the  cities  they  live  in. 
Kalamata  is  at  the  head  of  the  Gulf  of 
Koron,  some  thirty  or  forty  miles  north 
of  Cape  Matapan.  It  is  a  busy,  manu- 
facturing, modern  place  of  five  thousand 
to  eight  thousand  inhabitants.  The  prin- 
cipal industry  appears  to  be  the  manu- 
facture of  silk.  Our  anchor  was  hardly 
thrown  out  before  peddlers  of  silk  things 
were  on  board,  selling  what  they  could 
to  the  passengers.  The  goods  seemed  to 
be  hand-woven,  solid  and  substantial,  and 
of  only  two  or  three  simple  colors. 
Handkerchiefs  worth  from  one  to  two 
francs  each,  and  pretty  scarfs,  thin  and 
gauzy,  formed  the  principal  articles  of 
these  dealers'  traffic.  They  also  had 
white  and  drab  materials  for  women's 
dresses,  but  I  saw  no  printed  stuffs. 

From  Kalamata  to  Syra  occupied  a 
whole  night,  taking  us  around  the  south- 
ern extremity  of  Greece  and  to  a  consid- 


ACROSS  THE  FOUR  SEAS  TO  ODESSA,      5 

erable  distance  eastward  from  the  coast. 
Syra,  with  its  thirty  thousand  or  forty 
thousand  people,  is  a  very  attractive 
place,  entirely  European  in  appearance, 
with  fine  residences,  churches,  monas- 
teries, and  other  public  buildings  on  the 
slopes  of  a  high  hill,  while  the  commer- 
cial quarter  is  spread  out  on  the  lower 
lands  along  the  shore.  The  people  in 
both  these  towns  seem  to  have  a  great 
deal  in  common  with  the  Greeks  of  clas- 
sical times.  Activity,  energy,  quick  wit, 
and  ability  to  take  care  of  themselves 
form  conspicuous  traits  of  the  popula- 
tion. Syra  is  said  to  be  the  most  impor- 
tant town  in  the  kingdom  after  Athens ; 
and  a  walk  among  its  streets  and  shops 
confirmed  the  impression  formed  in  other 
towns  where  the  Greeks  evidently  pre- 
dominate, that  no  people  are  better  able 
to  manage  their  own  business  than  these 
intellectual,  practical,  energetic,  and 
open-minded  descendants  of  the  antique 

Achaians.     They  are   surely  among   the 
2 


6  EA  STERN  JO  URNE  YS. 

most  useful  and  efficient  citizens  of  the 
modern  world. 

The  next  morning,  as  we  were  moving 
northward  along  the  coast  of  Macedonia, 
the  Thracian  Olympus,  with  snowy  sum- 
mits, towered  before  our  eyes  in  the 
west.  It  is  a  noble  and  most  impressive 
group  of  mountains,  and  no  one  who  sees 
it  in  a  clear  sunrise  will  condemn  the 
early  Greeks  for  making  it  the  special 
abode  of  their  divinities.  Perhaps  the 
Mysian  Olympus,  which  rises  above  the 
Turkish  city  of  Brusa,  is  grander,  and 
certainly  it  is  some  thousands  of  feet 
higher ;  but  it  lacks  the  majesty  and  va- 
riety of  its  Thracian  compeer. 

We  reached  Salonica  at  about  noon, 
and  had  ample  time  to  drive  to  the  city 
during  the  stay  of  the  ship.  Its  appear- 
ance is  very  gay  and  cheerful,  consider- 
ing the  amount  of  history  that  attaches 
to  it.  Here  Xerxes  had  his  camp  on  his 
way  to  overwhelm  Greece ;  here  Cas- 
sander,  brother-in-law  of  Alexander  the 


ACROSS  THE  FOUR  SEAS  TO  ODESSA.      7 

Great,  gave  to  the  unconquered  town 
the  name  of  his  wife,  Thessalonica ;  here 
Cicero  lived  in  exile ;  here  was  the 
Church  of  the  Thessalonians  to  which 
St.  Paul  addressed  two  of  the  most  inter- 
esting among  his  epistles.  The  place 
has  now  some  one  hundred  and  thirty 
thousand  inhabitants.  It  has  a  consider- 
able extension  along  the  water  front,  and 
it  reaches  up  the  long  slope  of  Mount 
Kortiash,  quite  far  inland.  I  had  always 
heard  that  it  was  rather  dirty  and  dis- 
reputable, but  we  found  it  cheerful  and 
reasonably  clean  in  the  beautiful  sun- 
shine of  that  lovely  spring  day.  Among 
the  people  in  the  bustling  streets  the 
European  element  seemed  to  predomi- 
nate, and  I  could  not  discover  that  the 
Turkish  ownership  gave  to  the  city  any 
special  difference  of  physiognomy  as 
compared  with  the  more  progressive 
towns  of  Greece. 

Our  next  stopping  place  was  to  be 
Constantinople,  and  early  in  our  stay  at 


8  EA  STERN  JO  URNE  YS, 

Salonica  the  captain  told  me  that  two 
Turkish  domestic  establishments,  one  of 
them  belonging  to  a  Pasha,  were  coming 
on  board  as  passengers  for  that  metropo- 
lis. Presently  the  Pasha  appeared,  in  a 
high  hat  and  frock  coat,  altogether  a 
European-looking  gentleman ;  and  with 
him  arrived  his  ladies,  one  of  them  a 
handsome  middle-aged  woman,  unveiled, 
looking  like  an  Italian,  with  bright  black 
eyes  and  pleasant  bearing.  She  was  fol- 
lowed by  three  others  in  semi-European 
costume,  all  wearing  the  yashmak  or 
Turkish  veil,  which  leaves  the  forehead 
and  eyes  uncovered,  and  hides  the  rest 
of  the  features.  But  what  excited  my 
interest  particularly  was  the  chief  of  the 
household,  the  principal  eunuch,  evident- 
ly an  important  personage,  quite  stout, 
and  with  a  noble  air  of  dignity,  yet  good- 
natured  and  friendly  looking.  For  the 
two  harems  of  our  two  distinguished 
passengers  the  captain  opened  separate 
gangways  near  the  rudder-post  aft,  dis- 


ACROSS  THE  FOUR  SEAS  TO  ODESSA,     g 

closing  suites  of  cabins  that  we  had  not 
before  suspected.  As  soon  as  the  ship 
had  started,  the  new  inmates  withdrew 
to  their  quarters  and  were  seen  no  more 
until  we  were  in  Constantinople. 

An  interesting  incident  in  our  pas- 
sage from  Salonica  was  a  pause  for  the 
Custom  House  visitation  in  the  Darda- 
nelles, which  this  time  occupied  perhaps 
two  hours.  It  was  varied  by  the  arrival 
of  the  habitual  boatload  of  fantastic  pot- 
tery, which  is  made  in  that  neighbor- 
hood, and  is  not  only  fantastic,  but  ugly. 
Yet  everybody  buys  a  specimen  and  car- 
ries it  home  as  evidence  of  having  been 
there.  There  is  some  display  of  military 
life  at  the  Dardanelles,  on  both  the  Asiat- 
ic and  European  sides ;  but  whether  the 
showy  forts  are  really  formidable  we 
could  not  tell  and  did  not  care  much. 
It  was  far  more  engaging  to  the  mind 
to  gaze  over  the  broad  plain  that  lies 
toward  the  site  of  ancient  Troy,  and  to 
imagine  the  ships  and  the  fighters  and 


lO  £A  STERN  JO  URNE  YS, 

the  scenes  there  in  the  days  of  Achilles 
and  Agamemnon. 

We  reached  Constantinople  the  next 
morning,  and,  instead  of  being  anchored 
out  in  the  middle  of  the  harbor,  as  had 
happened  to  us  on  former  visits,  we  saw 
our  ship  tied  to  the  wharf,  and  were  able 
to  walk  ashore  down  an  ordinary  gang- 
way. We  had  the  day  before  us,  and 
put  it  in  first  by  a  visit  to  the  bazaar, 
which  we  found  sadly  modernized.  The 
roof,  which  used  to  extend  over  the  nar- 
row and  crooked  passageways  which 
ramify  through  it  like  streets,  was  gone, 
and  an  air  of  novelty  and  cleanness  had 
succeeded  the  dirty  and  picturesque  an- 
tiquity which  we  had  seen  there  in  for- 
mer times.  Our  old  friends,  the  deal- 
ers in  carpets  and  bric-a-brac,  were  still 
there,  however,  and  the  coffee  which  they 
served  was  quite  as  enchanting  as  ever. 
Why  is  it  that  Turkish  coffee  is  so  much 
better  than  all*  others  ?  It  is  a  kind  of 
potentialistic  and  transcendental  prepara- 


I 


ACROSS  THE  FOUR  SEAS  TO  ODESSA,    n 

tion  that  other  lands  do  not  know  and 
very  poorly  imitate. 

From  the  bazaar  we  drove  to  St. 
Sophia,  the  most  noble,  most  impressive, 
and  most  religious  of  religious  structures 
— superior,  I  think,  in  its  effect  upon  the 
soul  to  every  other  temple  of  worship. 
It  is  impossible  to  pass  under  its  high 
arches  or  to  cross  its  wide  pavements 
without  emotions  of  reverence  and  ado- 
ration. In  one  place,  at  a  little  distance 
from  each  other,  were  assembled  two 
separate  groups  of  students,  all  sitting 
upon  the  floor  with  the  Koran  in  their 
hands,  listening  to  the  loud  reading  and 
exposition  of  their  two  professors,  who 
would  first  give  a  passage  from  the  sa- 
cred book,  and  then  pause  to  explain  and 
comment.  The  reading  was  apparently 
in  Arabic,  and  I  thought  that  the  exposi- 
tion was  also  in  that  language,  but  in  this 
I  may  have  been  mistaken.  The  only 
point  that  I  was  quite  sure  of  was  that 
neither  of  the  two  schools  seemed  to  be 


12  ^A  STERN  JO  URNE  YS. 

interfered  with  by  the  other,  although 
the  instruction  in  each  was  audible  to  the 
students  of  the  other  as  well  as  to  the 
strangers  who  stood  around. 

From  St.  Sophia  we  drove  to  the 
museum  of  antiquities  at  Seraglio  Point. 
This  is  an  institution  which  has  existed 
more  than  forty  years,  but  it  is  only  in 
the  last  ten  years  that  it  has  risen  into 
serious  importance.  Now  the  law  is  that 
all  objects  of  antiquity  unearthed  in  any 
part  of  the  Turkish  empire  must  be 
brought  here  for  preservation  and  exhibi- 
tion, and  an  experienced  antiquarian  can 
spend  a  day  profitably  in  examining  the 
collection  long  since  assembled. 

But  it  was  not  until  1887  that  the 
great  discovery  was  made  at  Sidon  which 
has  raised  the  museum  to  high  distinc- 
tion among  the  famous  collections  of  the 
great  European  cities.  This  discovery 
produced  seventeen  sarcophagi,  the  most 
important  of  them  Greek,  all  of  which  are 
now  to  be  seen  here.     One  among  them, 


ACROSS  THE  FOUR  SEAS  TO  ODESSA.    13 

known  as  the  sarcophagus  of  Alexander 
the  Great,  excels  all  the  others,  and  must 
be  ranked  among  the  most  admirable 
remains  of  Grecian  sculpture.  Though 
there  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  it  was 
made  for  Alexander,  it  is  called  by  his 
name  because  his  effigy  is  conspicuous 
among  its  carvings.  It  is  of  white  mar- 
ble, perhaps  a  little  less  than  six  feet 
high,  and  all  four  of  its  sides  are  cov- 
ered with  the  noblest  style  of  Greek  art. 
On  one  side  a  hunt  is  depicted,  on  the 
other  side  a  battle,  and  each  end  has  a 
battle  scene.  The  entablatures,  which 
are  covered  with  these  scenes,  are  per- 
haps two  feet  and  a  half  in  height.  The 
figures  are  in  high  relief  and  in  violent 
action,  and,  what  is  more  remarkable, 
they  are  all  gently  tinted  with  delicate 
colors  that  add  much  to  the  effect,  but 
do  not  injure  the  quality  of  the  marble 
surface.  It  is  one  of  the  most  wonderful 
works  that  have  been  recovered  from  an- 
tiquity, worthy  of  being  matched  with 
3 


14  £A  STERN  JO  URNE  YS. 

the  Venus  of  Milo  and  the  Hermes  of 
Olympia.  Precisely  when  it  was  made, 
or  who  was  the  artist  who  conceived  and 
executed  such  a  glorious  production,  is 
unknown.  There  is  no  mention  or  allu- 
sion in  classical  literature  that  indicates 
either  its  epoch  or  its  authorship  ;  but 
the  traveller  who  has  not  seen  it  should 
pack  his  trunk  as  quickly  as  possible  and 
take  his  tickets  for  the  Golden  Horn. 

Our  day  was  now  well  advanced,  yet 
after  St.  Sophia  and  the  museum  and 
the  bazaar  it  was  still  impossible  to 
leave  the  place  without  driving  around 
the  ancient  walls.  Few  things  in  all 
Europe  are  better  worth  seeing;  and,  if 
I  were  to  visit  the  old  city  a  thousand 
times,  I  should  always  wish  to  see  them 
again.  The  day  was  lovely  and  our  car- 
riages were  good,  but  the  roughness  of 
the  streets  was  something  that  no  one 
could  imagine  without  driving  through 
them.  The  further  west  you  go  and  the 
nearer  you  approach  to  the  ancient  tow- 


ACROSS  THE  FOUR  SEAS  TO  ODESSA.    15 

ers,  the  more  precipitously  rough,  back- 
ward, forward,  and  sideways,  the  roads 
become.  However,  we  lived  through  it, 
until  we  reached  the  head-waters  of  the 
Golden  Horn.  There,  hiring  a  boat  and 
rowers,  we  dismissed  our  shattering  cabs 
and  got  back  to  our  ship  in  time  to  make 
everything  comfortable  before  she  start- 
ed to  go  up  the  Bosporus. 

As  we  were  passing  out  of  the  Golden 
Horn  and  turning  our  prow  toward  the 
north  we  came  upon  a  lovely  American 
yacht  of  perhaps  three  hundred  tons, 
painted  white  and  bearing  the  starry 
banner.  What  her  name  was  and  who 
was  her  owner  we  could  not  find  out. 
But  it  was  almost  like  seeing  home  once 
more,  and  all  our  hearts  gave  three  cheers 
again  and  again. 

The  journey  up  the  Bosporus  from 
Constantinople  to  the  Black  Sea  is  among 
the  spectacles  that  every  traveller  cele- 
brates. We  accomplished  it  in  sunshine, 
and  with  the  flowers  of  the  peach  trees 


1 6  EA  STERN  JO  URNE  YS, 

and  judas  trees  in  full  display.  The  dis- 
tance is  perhaps  twenty-five  or  thirty 
miles,  and  the  high  and  gently  sloping 
and  varied  shores  are  covered  with  vil- 
las, palaces,  gardens,  and  castles.  It  was 
indeed  a  delicious  excursion.  We  en- 
tered the  Black  Sea  before  dark,  and 
without  further  adventure  found  our- 
selves at  Odessa  the  second  morning 
afterward  at  about  ten  o*clock. 


II. 

THE  RUSSIAN  RIVIERA, 

Our  ship  had  scarcely  been  fastened 
to  the  wharf  at  Odessa  when  a  Russian 
officer  came  on  board  and  informed  me 
that  orders  had  been  given  that  our  lug- 
gage was  not  to  be  subjected  to  Custom 
House  examination,  and,  upon  my  in- 
quiring the  source  of  such  politeness,  I 
was  told  that  it  was  done  at  the  instance 
of  Dr.  Thomas  E.  Heenan,  an  old  friend 
of  ours,  who  for  several  years  has  been 
Consul  of  the  United  States  at  that  port. 
Dr.  Heenan  appears  to  be  persona  grata, 
not  merely  with  the  Americans,  English, 
French,  and  other  foreigners  at  Odessa, 
but  with  the  Russian  officials  and  Rus- 
sian society  as  well.  He  soon  afterward 
came  on  board  in  person,  and  was  most 

warmly  welcomed.     He  informed  us  also 

17 


1 8  £A  STERN  JO  URNE  YS. 

of  an  amusing  occurrence  that  had  taken 
place  an  hour  or  two  before,  which  we 
found  afterward  exploited  at  length  and 
with  a  good  deal  of  wit  in  the  Odessa 
Vaestnik,  The  police  had  been  informed 
that  when  our  party  arrived  it  would  be 
their  duty  not  only  to  receive  us  with 
marks  of  courtesy,  but  to  escort  us  and 
our  impedimenta  to  the  hotel  where  lodg- 
ings had  been  secured  for  us.  A  Russian 
steamer  had  arrived  pretty  early  in  the 
morning,  and  the  police  officers  inquired 
if  there  were  any  Americans  among  the 
passengers.  Two  gentlemen  answering 
to  the  description  were  found,  and,  with- 
out further  inquiry,  they  were  informed 
that  they  were  expected,  that  their  trunks 
were  to  be  passed  unopened,  and  that  the 
officers  would  at  once  conduct  them  to 
their  lodgings.  Surprised  but  not  dis- 
pleased by  this  intelligence,  the  two  gen- 
tlemen, both  of  them  merchants  of  some 
description  hailing  from  Boston,  imme- 
diately  started   for   the   hotel,    but,    on 


THE  RUSSIAN  RIVIERA.  ig 

arriving  there,  they  declared  that  the 
rooms  to  which  they  were  shown  could 
not  be  intended  for  two  persons  only, 
and  so  the  mistake  was  found  out.  Thus 
the  Odessa  newspaper  had  a  chance  to 
laugh  at  the  police,  on  account  of  this 
blunder,  and  the  rare  opportunity  was 
well  improved. 

Odessa  is  indeed  a  very  charming 
city,  boasting  some  three  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  inhabitants.  Spread  out 
over  an  elevated  and  rather  irregular 
surface,  it  fronts  the  sea  with  a  bluff 
perhaps  seventy  feet  in  height.  Along 
the  outer  border  of  this  bluff  is  a  neat 
little  park  called  a  boulevard,  much  fre- 
quented by  ladies  and  children.  The 
streets  are  wide,  the  public  buildings 
many  of  them  very  handsome,  the  pri- 
vate houses  spacious  and  elegant.  We 
spent  a  part  of  three  or  four  afternoons 
at  the  athletic  grounds  furnished  by  the 
city,  where  cricket  is  played  mainly  by 
foreigners  and  lawn  tennis  cultivated  by 


20  ^^  STERN  JO  URNE  YS. 

clubs  of  ladies  and  gentlemen.  It  was 
also  our  good  fortune  to  attend  a  cele- 
bration in  the  cathedral  on  the  day  of 
the  new  emperor's  coronation  in  Mos- 
cow. The  singing  was  magnificent,  as  I 
have  almost  always  found  it  in  Eussian 
Orthodox  churches,  though  the  choir 
consists  of  male  voices  alone  and  no  in- 
struments are  allowed.  A  review  in  the 
adjoining  public  square  after  the  Te 
Deum  in  the  church  was  quite  impres- 
sive, both  for  the  martial  appearance  of 
the  soldiers  and  the  precision  of  their 
movements.  Lieut.-Gen.  Zelony,  the  po- 
litical governor  and  military  commander 
of  the  province,  received  us  with  extreme 
graciousness,  recalling  the  time  when,  as 
a  subordinate  officer,  he  had  visited  New 
York  with  the  Russian  fleet  toward  the 
close  of  the  civil  war. 

Leaving  Odessa  at  about  three  in  the 
afternoon  by  a  Russian  ship — and  we  are 
bound  to  say  that  these  ships  are  elegant, 
comfortable,  and   satisfactory — we   went 


THE  RUSSIAN  RIVIERA, 


21 


directly  to  Sevastopol,  landing  in  that 
famous  seaport  of  the  Crimea  before 
noon  the  next  day.  The  entrance  into 
the  inner  harbor  is  broad  and  without 
any  obstacle,  and  the  city,  which  was 
destroyed  in  the  Crimean  War  of  1854, 
now  shows  no  scars  of  that  calamity, 
but  stretches  out  along  its  ridges  and 
sunny  slopes  in  a  way  most  attractive 
and  hospitable.  Like  the  hotels  of  Rus- 
sia in  general,  those  of  Sevastopol  are 
spacious,  clean,  and  in  every  way  agree- 
able, and  the  drives  around  the  town 
are  picturesque  and  pleasing,  quite  apart 
from  their  interest  as  memorable  scenes 
in  modern  history.  In  this  latter  re- 
spect, however,  it  is  not  too  much  to 
say  that  there  is  scarcely  another  place 
in  Europe  which  can  vie  with  this  corner 
of  the  Crimea.  The  Malakoff,  the  Re- 
dan, the  Mamelon,  the  vast  field  on  the 
southeast  that  slopes  toward  Balaklava, 
the  monuments  that  mark  the  charge  of 
the  Light  Brigade,  the  cemeteries  of  the 


22  ^A  STERN  JO  URNE  YS, 

English,  the  French,  the  Italians,  and  the 
Russian  defenders  of  the  place,  perhaps 
the  most  gallant  of  all,  and  Balaklava  it- 
self, with  its  wonderful  harbor,  whose  en- 
trance is  so  narrow  that  two  ships  can- 
not navigate  it  together,  absorb  the  mind 
with  memories  of  that  tremendous  strug- 
gle, at  once  one  of  the  most  heroic  and 
most  useless  wars  of  modern  times ;  use- 
less because  it  has  left  no  permanent 
fruits,  and  the  questions  they  fought 
about  then  are  essentially  the  same  as 
those  which  still  confront  the  contend- 
ing powers. 

The  immense  historical  interest  of  the 
Crimea  has  combined  with  a  certain 
comparative  inaccessibility  to  prevent 
the  universal  recognition  of  its  extraordi- 
nary natural  beauty  and  attractiveness 
as  a  semi-tropical  region  quite  near  to 
the  Caucasus.  But  it  was  not  until  we 
had  finished  with  the  sights  and  the 
memories  of  Sevastopol  and  Balaklava 
that  we  came  to  appreciate  the  strange 


THE  RUSSIAN  RIVIERA.  23 

charm  of  the  Crimea  and  the  delight  it 
has  in  store  for  travellers  who  are  not 
too  much  in  a  hurry.  Starting  in  the 
morning  from  Sevastopol  and  driving 
with  one  or  two  changes  of  horses,  we 
traversed  the  southern  projection  of  the 
peninsula,  and  at  about  two  o^clock  in 
the  afternoon  passed  through  the  Gates 
of  Baidar,  as  the  passage  through  the 
laila  Mountains  is  called,  and  looked 
down  upon  one  of  the  noblest  spectacles 
in  the  world.  Immediately  before  us  lay 
the  boundless  sea,  the  shore  rocky  and 
broken,  with  villages,  churches,  castles, 
and  little  seaports,  all  made  accessible  by 
the  great  road  cut  into  the  mountain  side 
here  and  there,  and  then  built  out  upon 
walls  over  some  abyss  or  valley  below, 
alone  enough  to  make  the  name  of  Prince 
Michael  Worontzoff  forever  memorable 
in  all  southeastern  Russia. 

The  vegetation  on  the  mountain 
slopes  toward  the  sea  is  wonderfully 
varied   and  interesting.     The  prevailing 


24  ^^  STERN  JO  URNE  YS. 

trees  are  oaks  and  beeches,  with  pinion 
pines,  cypresses,  myrtles,  mulberry  trees, 
and  occasionally  fig  trees  mingled  among 
them.  I  was  greatly  impressed  by  a 
kind  of  dwarf  beech  which  I  had  never 
seen  in  any  other  sylva,  and  of  which  we 
passed  that  day  hundreds  of  specimens. 
It  often  lay  stretched  out  almost  flat 
upon  the  ground,  and  again  where  the 
soil  and  the  exposure  were  favorable,  it 
would  assume  a  form  of  perfect  regu- 
larity and  rise  to  the  height  of  six  or 
eight  feet.  The  leaves  are  exceedingly 
small  and  lustrous,  making  it  a  very 
decorative  plant.  It  seems  surprising 
that  botanists  have  never  brought  it  out 
to  the  knowledge  of  the  world  and  made 
it  available  for  general  cultivation.  Of 
the  wild  azaleas  that  we  saw  growing 
in  the  Crimea,  and  the  Caucasus  too, 
I  am  bound  to  add  that  they  were  rather 
poor  and  disappointing.  Those  of  Pike 
County  are  ten  times  finer. 

About  five  o'clock  we  reached  Yalta, 


THE  RUSSIAN  RIVIERA.  25 

an  agreeable  watering  place  with  hotels, 
bath-houses,  and  other  amusements,  and 
perhaps  fifteen  hundred  regular  inhabi- 
tants. We  stayed  there  three  or  four 
days,  and  one  of  our  most  interesting  ex- 
cursions was  to  Livadia,  a  country  seat  of 
vast  extent  belonging  to  the  Czar.  Get- 
ting permission  from  the  commander  of 
the  guard,  at  the  entrance,  we  spent  a 
large  part  of  a  day  in  visiting  it.  There 
are  several  extensive  dwellings,  all  sim- 
ple and  convenient,  not  furnished  with 
any  great  magnificence,  but  sufficient  for 
every  requirement  of  comfort.  In  one 
bedroom  of  the  imperial  chateau  we  saw 
inserted  in  the  parquetted  floor  a  small 
cross  of  wood,  marking  the  spot  where 
the  late  Emperor  Alexander  III  had 
died  sitting  in  his  chair. 

We  went  through  the  greenhouses, 
finding  them  large,  filled  with  many  in- 
teresting yet  not  extraosdinary  plants, 
especially  palms,  but  not  otherwise  re- 
markable.    It  was  like  the  collection  of  a 


26  EA  STERN  JO  URNE  YS, 

millionaire  with  no  unusual  taste  and  no 
extensive  knowledge  of  botany  or  of  the 
marvels  of  modern  culture.  The  collec- 
tion of  orchids  seemed  peculiarly  limited. 
The  roads  through  the  forest,  which 
covers  much  of  the  estate,  are  perfectly 
good,  but  nothing  more.  There  seemed, 
for  instance,  to  be  a  scarcity  of  vistas  tak- 
ing advantage  of  the  opportunity  of  look- 
ing out  upon  the  adjoining  sea.  It  was  a 
case  of  magnitude,  but  not  of  high  art. 

There  are  several  other  famous  es- 
tates in  the  vicinity,  one  or  two  of  them 
belonging  to  members  of  the  imperial 
family,  but  we  did  not  attempt  to  visit 
them ;  and  finally,  having  exhausted  the 
interest  of  the  shops  in  Yalta,  and  that  is 
saying  a  good  deal,  we  left  the  Crimea 
and  its  delightful  climate  one  pleasant 
evening  on  a  most  excellent  Russian 
ship,  whose  final  destination  was  Ba- 
toum,  the  last  Russian  port  at  the  eastern 
extremity  of  the  Black  Sea. 

On    the    way    we    stopped    first    at 


THE  RUSSIAN  RIVIERA,  27 

Kertch,  the  ancient  Panticapoeum  at  the 
entrance  to  the  Straits  of  Yenikale  and 
the  Sea  of  Azov.  It  is  a  very  pleasant 
place,  with  thirty  odd  thousand  inhabi- 
tants and  an  important  trade,  especially 
in  salt.  The  most  interesting  object  here 
is  the  so-called  tomb  of  Mithridates  VII, 
or  Mithridates  the  Great,  next  to  Hanni- 
bal perhaps  the  most  energetic  and  ir- 
reconcilable foe  of  ancient  Rome.  His 
tomb  is  a  rather  rococo  structure  on  the 
summit  of  a  hill  which  overlooks  the  city 
and  the  harbor.  Excavations  from  the 
mounds  about  it,  and  elsewhere  near  the 
city,  have  contributed  to  the  Imperial 
Museum  in  St.  Petersburg  and  to  the 
British  Museum  in  London  a  quantity  of 
gold  ornaments  which  compel  attention 
even  among  the  manifold  treasures  of 
those  rich  and  most  instructive  collec- 
tions of  antiquities.  The  share  of  the 
British  Museum  was  sent  there  by  Major 
Westmacott,  of  the  British  army,  after 
the  allies  had  captured   Kertch   in  1855, 


28  E^  STERN  JO  URNE  YS, 

during   the  operations  of   the   Crimean 
War. 

We  were  able  to  drive  nearly  to  the 
summit  of  the  hill  and  to  examine  closely 
the  ancient  tomb.  We  found,  however, 
that  the  territory  surrounding  it  was  still 
frequented  by  a  number  of  amateur  exca- 
vators, who,  with  long  iron  hooks,  poke 
in  the  gravel  to  find  antiquities  that  have 
escaped  previous  efforts.  From  one  of 
these  I  bought  for  a  few  kopecks  three 
or  four  little  terra  cotta  images,  which 
the  seller  assured  me  had  been  dug  out 
on  the  spot ;  but,  on  careful  examination, 
I  found  they  had  been  made  in  Italy  for 
sale  as  specimens  of  prehistoric  art.  We 
also  visited  the  Museum  in  one  of  the 
streets  near  the  water,  but  saw  there 
nothing  very  impressive,  the  really  val- 
uable objects  having  long  since  been 
taken  away.  But  the  view  from  the 
summit  of  the  hill  was  superb,  and  we 
greatly  enjoyed  our  afternoon's  stroll 
around  the  old  tomb  and  down  through 


THE  RUSSIAN  RIVIERA.  29 

the  streets  of  the  town.  We  saw  plenty 
of  shops  for  the  sale  of  antiquities,  all 
well  provided  with  imitations  of  modern 
manufacture ;  but  it  was  impossible  to 
gaze  from  the  summit  of  the  hill  over  the 
vast  country  to  the  north  and  west  with- 
out longing  to  break  into  some  of  the 
many  large  kourgans,  or  burial  mounds 
of  regular  conical  form,  which  dot  the 
landscape  in  almost  every  direction. 

I  mentioned  this  to  an  expert  upon 
our  steamer,  and  he  agreed  with  me  as 
to  the  desire,  but  added  that  experience 
shows  that  where  it  is  gratified  the  effort 
almost  always  results  in  disappointment. 
Most  of  these  mounds,  he  said,  are  mere- 
ly the  graves  of  important  individuals  of 
prehistoric  times.  In  the  centre  of  the 
large  ones  is  usually  found  a  skeleton 
horse  standing  with  a  skeleton  man  on 
his  back.  This  was  a  favorite  mode  of 
burial  for  the  old  Cimmerian  chieftains, 
and  very  rarely,  almost  nearer,  in  fact, 
are  ornaments  of  precious  metals  found 


30  ^A  S  TERN  JO  URNE  YS. 

among  the  relics;  while  the  remains  of 
pottery  are  usually  of  no  value  and  of 
trifling  interest. 

We  left  the  roadstead  of  Kertch  be- 
fore sundown,  and  the  next  morning 
found  ourselves  at  Novorossisk,  a  noble 
harbor,  with  every  point  on  the  shores 
bearing  evidence  of  the  immense  manu- 
facturing and  commercial  activity  which 
marks  the  business  towns  of  modern 
Russia.  A  railway  leads  hence  north- 
wardly to  Rostov-on-the-Don.  New 
buildings  seemed  to  be  going  forward 
everywhere,  and  the  petroleum  traffic, 
which  has  covered  the  whole  southwest- 
ern shore  of  the  Caucasian  country  with 
a  series  of  the  busiest  places  in  the  world, 
was  evidently  in  full  operation  here.  But 
our  hope  of  seeing  the  great  summits  of 
the  Caucasus  was  foiled.  Both  Elbruz 
and  Kasbek  were  veiled  by  clouds,  and 
so  they  remained  during  the  whole  day. 

Our  next  stopping  place  was  at  Souk- 
houmkale,  and  the  next  at  Poti,  at   the 


THE  RUSSIAN  RIVIERA. 


31 


mouth  of  the  river  Rion,  likewise  a  place 
of  extreme  activity,  with  a  branch  of  the 
Trans-Caucasian  railway  extending  as  far 
as  Kutais,  on  the  way  to  Tiflis  and  the 
Caspian.  The  Rion  is  the  ancient  Phasis, 
and  hither  the  Argonauts  came  seeking 
the  Golden  Fleece,  and  hence  they  re- 
turned after  they  had  got  it.  The  low- 
lying,  malarious-looking  shores  and  the 
turbulent  river,  swollen  to  enormous  ex- 
tent by  the  spring  freshets  from  the 
mountains,  justified  the  description  of 
the  poet : 

He  passed  the  sea, 
And  reached  a  river  opening  into  it, 
Across  the  which  the  white-winged  fowl  did  flit 
From  cliff  to  cliff,  and  on  the  sandy  bar 
The  fresh  waves  and  the  salt  waves  were  at  war 
At  turning  of  the  tide. 


Now  swift  beneath  the  oar  strokes  Argo  flew, 
While  the  sun  rose  behind  them,  and  they  drew 
Unto  the  river's  mouth,  nor  failed  to  see 
Absyrtus's  galley  waiting  watchfully 
Betwixt  them  and  the  white-tipped  turbid  bar. 
Therefore  they  got  them  ready  now  for  war 
With  joyful  hearts,  for  sharp  they  sniped  the  sea 


32  EA STERN  JO URNE  VS. 

And  saw  the  great  waves  tumbling  green  and  free 

Outside  the  bar  upon  the  way  to  Greece, 

The  rough  green  way  to  glory  and  sweet  peace. 

But  Jason,  roaring  as  the  lioness 

When  round  her  helpless  whelps  the  hunters  press, 

Whirled   round  his  head   his    mighty  brass-bound 

spear 
That,  flying,  smote  the  Prince  beneath  the  ear. 
As  Arcas's  arrow  sunk  into  his  side. 
Then,  falling,  scarce  he  met  the  rushing  tide 
Ere  Argo's  mighty  prow  had  thrust  apart 
The  huddled  oars,  and  through  the  fair  ship's  heart 
Had  thrust  her  iron  beak,  and  the  green  wave 
Rushed  in,  as  rushed  the  waters  through  a  cave 
That  tunnels  half  a  sea-girt  lonely  rock. 
Then,  drawing  swiftly  backward  from  the  shock. 
And  heeding  not  the  cries  of  fear  and  woe, 
They  left  the  waters  dealing  with  their  foe ; 
And  at  the  following  ship  threw  back  a  shout 
And  seaward  o'er  the  bar  drave  Argo  out. 

The  gray  sky  and  the  heavy  mists  hid- 
ing the  mountain-tops,  and  even  obscur- 
ing the  mighty  forests  of  their  slopes, 
were  all  sufficiently  in  harmony  with 
these  classical  fancies  of  the  ancient 
world  ;  but  the  pervading  odor  of  petro- 
leum and  the  rush  of  business  around  the 
shore  had  nothing  poetical  or  beautiful  in 


THE  RUSSIAN  RIVIERA,  33 

their  suggestions ;  and  we  were  not  sorry 
when  our  anchor  was  pulled  up,  and  the 
Colchian  hills  behind  us  grew  faint  and 
fainter  as  our  ship  pushed  southward 
toward  Batoum. 


III. 

THE  SOUTHERN  ASPECTS  OF  THE 
CAUCASUS. 

We  arrived  at  Batoum  in  good  season 
the  next  morning,  and  our  steamer  passed 
within  the  great  jetty  which  protects  the 
harbor  on  the  west.  The  anchorage  is 
extensive  and  perfectly  safe,  with  an  ade- 
quate depth  of  water,  but  the  place  is 
said  to  be  unwholesome,  owing  to  the 
marshy  nature  of  the  country  for  a  con- 
siderable distance  inland.  The  town  is 
fortified,  and  a  considerable  garrison 
seems  to  be  kept  there.  We  saw  on  all 
sides  the  same  indications  of  active  busi- 
ness, and  smelled  the  same  vivid  odor  of 
petroleum,  which  we  had  observed  at  the 
other  ports  looking  eastward  toward  the 
great  mountains  and  the  Caspian.  We 
soon  had  the  pleasure  of  a  visit  from  Mr. 

34 


ASPECTS  OF   THE   CAUCASUS,  35 

James  C.  Chambers,  Consul  of  the  United 
States,  to  whom,  as  well  as  to  Mr.  Stevens, 
the  British  Vice-Consul,  we  were  indebted 
for  many  acts  of  courtesy  during  our 
brief  sojourn  in  the  town. 

Batoum  is  entirely  a  modern  city  in 
its  appearance  and  arrangements,  but  all 
visitors  are  taken  to  visit  the  zamok  or 
ruined  chateau  of  Queen  Thamara.  Its 
remains  occupy  the  summit  of  a  moder- 
ate hill  outside  the  town  and  about  two 
miles  from  its  centre.  This  Queen  ap- 
pears to  have  been  a  lady  of  considerable 
importance,  and  Mr.  Freshfield  speaks 
of  her  with  some  enthusiasm.  *'  Queen 
Thamara,'*  he  says,  "  the  Charlemagne  of 
the  Caucasian  isthmus,  at  the  close  of 
the  twelfth  century  spread  Christianity 
among  the  Ossetes,  and  dotted  their 
heights  with  churches.'*  However  that 
may  have  been,  we  found  on  the  beauti- 
ful fresh  turf  which  surrounds  the  fallen 
towers  of  her  old  castle,  in  the  shade  of 
the  big  trees,  a  most  agreeable  place  for 


36  JSA  STERN  JO  URNE  YS, 

luncheon.  But  our  desire  to  start  for 
the  interior  prevailed  over  every  other 
attraction.  It  was  still  early  in  the  after- 
noon when  we  took  our  places  in  the 
train  for  Tiflis,  the  mountain  railway 
over  which  we  were  to  travel  having  at 
last  been  repaired,  so  that  there  was  a 
prospect  of  getting  through  to  the  Geor- 
gian capital,  though  there  had  been  no 
communication  with  it  by  train  for  a 
month  or  more. 

We  had  scarcely  got  out  of  sight  of 
Batoum  when  the  clouds  that  had  so 
long  concealed  the  mountains  disap- 
peared, and  we  saw  quite  distinctly  the 
long  range  extending  apparently  from 
west  to  east,  Elbruz,  with  its  double 
summits  on  the  west,  and  in  the  east 
Kasbek,  a  marvel  of  beauty,  worthy  even 
to  rival  the  solemn  apparition  of  the 
Jungfrau,  as  one  may  behold  it  at  sun- 
rise from  Interlaken.  But  Kasbek,  if 
somewhat  inferior  in  grandeur,  is  the 
more  beautiful  of  the  two,  rising  in  a 


ASPECTS  OF   THE   CAUCASUS,         37 

symmetrical  though  slender  pyramid,  as 
we  now  saw  it  at  a  distance  of  perhaps 
seventy-five  miles  ;  and  though  I  do  not 
like  to  compare  the  Caucasus  with  the 
Alps,  my  sober  judgment  is  that,  of  all 
the  great  mountain  displays,  there  can- 
not be  any  more  noble,  more  beautiful, 
or  more  impressive  than  these  wonders 
of  eastern  Europe.  But  on  this  subject 
let  us  pause  for  a  moment,  and  listen  to 
the  great  poet  of  Russia : 

THE   CAUCASUS. 

Caucasus  below  me !    Alone  on  the  height 

I  stand  above  the  snows,  on  the  brink  of  these  awful 

steeps. 
An  eagle  rising  from  a  distant  summit 
Floats  immovably  on  a  level  with  me. 
Here  I  behold  the  birth  of  rivers 
And  the  first  moving  of  the  terrible  avalanches. 
Here  the  clouds  hover  quietly  beneath  me  ; 
Through  them  I  hear  the  roaring  waterfalls ; 
And  see  the  naked  hugeness  of  the  rocks ; 
Lower  down,  the  thin  mosses,  the  dry  shrubs ; 
And  there  also  the  green  shades  of  the  forests, 
Where  the  birds  chatter,  where  the  deer  leap. 
There  also  men  build  nests  in  the  mountains 
And  the  sheep  crawl  over  the  grassy  declivities, 
6 


38  ^A  STERN  JO  URNE  YS, 

And  the  shepherd  climbs  down  into  the  pleasant  val- 
leys 
Where  the  Aragva  rushes  against  the  shaded  shore, 
And  the  poor  horseman    hides    himself    in    some 

crevice. 
There  the  beautiful  Terek  with  fury- 
Plays  and  roars,  like  a  young  wild  beast 
Struggling  with  hunger  to  escape  his  iron  cage ; 
And  he  rushes  against  the  banks,  with  useless  rag- 
ing, 
And  licks  the  rocks  with  hungry  wave. 
In  vain  !     There  is  no  food  for  him,  no  consolation. 
And  the  dumb  crags  compress  him  terribly. 

THE  MONASTERY  ON   KASBEK, 
High  over  the  family  of  mountains, 
Kasbek,  thy  imperial  tent 
Gleams  with  eternal  splendors. 
Thy  monastery  behind  the  clouds, 
Like  a  shrine  descending  from  heaven. 
Floats,  scarcely  visible,  above  the  summits. 
Oh,  distant,  longed-for  shore. 
There,  bidding  farewell  to  all  below. 
Let  me  rise  to  supreme  freedom  ! 
There  in  a  cell,  cloud-enveloped 
Hide  me  in  the  neighborhood  of  God ! 

On  our  way  to  Tiflis  we  passed  with- 
out much  delay  over  the  place  where  the 
railway  had  just  been  restored,  and  ar- 
rived   at    our    destination    before    nine 


ASPECTS  OF  THE   CAUCASUS,         39 

o*clock  in  the  evening.  Yet  the  next 
day  the  rails  were  broken  again,  and 
during  the  week  that  we  remained  in 
Tiflis  there  was  not  a  day  when  a  train 
could  be  sent  to  Baku  on  the  Caspian; 
and  thus  we  were  constrained  to  give  up 
the  idea  of  making  a  visit  to  Central  Asia 
and  to  the  old  city  of  Tamerlane. 

In  the  strict  sense,  the  Caucasus  is  a 
body  of  mountains  parallel  to  the  coast 
of  the  Black  Sea,  beginning  on  the  west 
at  Anapa,  near  the  Sea  of  Azov,  and  ex- 
tending  in  a  southeasterly  direction  to 
Cape  Abcheran  on  the  Caspian.  The 
length  of  the  mass  is  about  seven  hun- 
dred miles,  and  its  breadth  varies  from 
seventy  miles  to  one  hundred  and  fifty. 
Mount  Elbruz,  the  highest  elevation  in 
Europe,  is  pretty  nearly  in  the  centre  of 
the  chain,  and  Kasbek,  the  next  in  height, 
is  about  sixty  miles  to  the  east  of  Elbruz ; 
and  there  are  a  great  number  of  other 
peaks  of  almost  equal  importance. 

The  Russian  political  divisions,  which 


40  -2"^  STERN  JO  URNE  YS. 

are  attached  to  the  Caucasus  and  are 
generally  known  as  Cis-Caucasia  and 
Trans-Caucasia,  make  together  about 
two  hundred  thousand  square  miles  of 
territory,  with  an  aggregate  population 
at  present  of  perhaps  eight  million  souls 
of  various  races  and  numerous  religions. 
Among  the  aboriginal  inhabitants  of  this 
country  there  are  said  to  be  some  sixty 
or  seventy  different  tribes,  speaking  as 
many  different  tongues  and  dialects,  liv- 
ing mainly  by  agriculture  and  the  chase, 
and  carrying  on  various  domestic  manu- 
factures, generally  marked  with  the 
stamp  of  high  artistic  instinct — such  as 
the  weaving  of  rugs  and  carpets,  the 
making  of  a  peculiar  kind  of  silverware 
ornamented  with  black  inlaying,  known 
as  niello,  and  the  making  of  swords  and 
daggers,  as  well  as  of  woollen  cloth,  felt, 
and  articles  of  Astrakhan  fur.  In  fact, 
foreign  manufactures,  except  those  of 
Central  Asia,  seem  as  yet  to  have  gained 
very  little  foothold  in  this  region. 


ASPECTS  OF   THE   CAUCASUS, 


41 


A  good  illustration  of  the  artistic  gen- 
ius of  the  people  is  a  piece  of  the  native 
pottery,  which  I  bought  at  an  insignifi- 
cant railway  station  in  the  hills  between 
Kutais  and  Tiflis,  and  which  evinces  the 
art  impulse  in  a  remarkable  degree. 
There  is  nothing  like  it  in  any  European 
collection.  I  had  never  seen  a  specimen 
before  except  at  the  Czar's  country  seat 
of  Livadia,  where  there  is  one  standing 
on  a  mantelpiece.  The  pottery  is  coarse 
enough,  but  the  glaze  is  of  a  beautiful 
peachblow  color,  and  the  design  and 
decorations  are  really  original  and  strik- 
ing. 

The  people  themselves,  as  they  are 
seen  in  the  cities  and  villages,  are  appar- 
ently, for  the  most  part,  what  is  called 
half-civilized.  They  are  very  handsome, 
athletic,  and  graceful.  The  women  have 
always  been  famous  for  their  beauty.  As 
for  the  Caucasian  gentleman,  he  has  all 
the  distinction  and  dignity  of  appearance 
and  manners  that  belong  to  the  charac- 


42  £^A  STERN  JO  URNE  YS. 

ter  of  a  gentleman  in  the  most  civilized 
countries. 

In  all  this  region  there  is  only  one 
road  leading  through  the  mountains 
from  south  to  north — namely,  the  Geor- 
gian military  road,  so  called.  It  starts 
in  the  south  from  Tiflis,  passes  the  foot 
of  Kasbek,  and  continues  through  the 
Darial  Pass  to  Vladikavkaz,  a  distance  of 
two  hundred  and  one  versts,  or  about 
one  hundred  and  thirty  miles.  The  rail- 
way from  Novorossisk  to  Rostov-on-the 
Don  turns  the  w^estern  extremity  of  the 
mountains,  but  does  not  cross  them  ;  and 
the  railway,  five  hundred  and  sixty  miles 
in  length,  from  Batoum  and  Poti  through 
Tiflis  to  Baku  on  the  Caspian,  turns  the 
southeastern  extremity  of  the  range  in 
the  same  manner.  This  railway,  by  the 
way,  running  along  mountain  gorges, 
with  no  well-defined  natural  line  to  fol- 
low, is  in  many  places  built  on  masonry 
supports,  and  at  almost  every  turn  is 
subject  to  serious  damage  from  freshets. 


ASPECTS  OF   THE   CAUCASUS. 


43 


But  the  Georgian  military  road,  fol- 
lowing almost  a  direct  line,  crosses  the 
mountains  through  what  seems  to  be  the 
one  available  north  and  south  pass ;  it  is 
macadamized,  about  one  hundred  feet  in 
width,  and  is  kept  in  perfect  condition. 

The  capital  of  this  vast  and  little 
known  region  is  Tiflis,  with  perhaps 
three  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  people, 
and  still  growing,  as  new  buildings  going 
up  here  and  there  afford  very  sure  evi- 
dence. This  picturesque  town  was  the 
capital  of  Georgia  in  old  times,  and  here 
the  Russian  Governor-General,  the  mili- 
tary authorities,  and  the  judicial  tribunals 
have  their  seat.  As  befits  an  Alpine  me- 
tropolis, it  is  planted  in  the  valley  of  the 
Kour,  a  rushing  mountain  torrent  which 
falls  sixty  feet  or  more  in  its  passage 
through  the  town,  and  occasionally  wears 
away  a  bit  of  the  shore  and  tumbles 
down  a  house  or  two.  The  day  we  got 
there  the  river  had  furiously  attacked  a 
small    island    opposite   our    hotel.     The 


44  ^A  STERN  JO  URNE  YS, 

public  excitement  was  intense.  Crowds 
gathered  on  the  bridge  just  below  the 
island,  and  a  gang  of  laborers  was  hard 
at  work  getting  out  a  quantity  of  goods 
that  were  stored  in  a  wooden  building 
on  the  island.  The  goods  were  carried 
away,  and  the  building  was  almost  taken 
to  pieces  ready  for  removal,  when  the 
water  fell,  and  the  danger  was  over  for 
the  time. 


IV. 

TIFLIS  AND    TRANS-CAUCASIA. 

There  are  no  big  mountains  close  at 
hand  at  Tiflis,  but  in  every  direction  the 
place  is  surrounded  by  heights  whose 
rocks  sometimes  stand  out  naked  and 
pictorial  without  any  earthy  covering, 
while  one  or  two  have  monasteries  on 
their  summits,  which  must  be  very  diffi- 
cult for  the  monks  to  climb.  On  one  of 
the  more  gentle  among  these  heights 
there  is  the  ancient  wall  of  a  citadel  in- 
closing  perhaps  a  dozen  acres,  whose 
well-grassed  interior  now  performs  the 
useful  function  of  pasturing  a  few  sheep, 
and  serving  as  a  lounging  place  for  any 
unoccupied  travellers  who  may  like  to 
wander  over  it  in  a  pleasant  afternoon. 
Just  below  this  on  the  east  is  a  large 
slope  containing  what  is  called  a  botanic 

7  45 


46  ^A  STERN  JO  URNE  YS. 

garden,  though  it  is  difficult  to  find 
among  its  alleyways  any  great  variety 
of  plants  or  any  sharp  scientific  arrange- 
ment. In  this  vicinity  also,  on  the  steep 
declivities  of  several  hills,  are  what  I 
took  to  be  the  cabins  of  the  early  in- 
habitants— curious  bird-cages  of  abodes, 
clinging  one  above  another  to  the  sides 
and  irregularities  of  the  rocks,  and 
reached  from  below  by  queer  and  erratic 
stairways.  In  the  levelled  valley-bot- 
toms among  these  ancient  eyries  modern 
streets  and  rows  of  buildings  have  every- 
where made  their  way,  so  that  there  is 
now  very  little  space  in  what  we  will 
call  the  native  quarter  remaining  to  be 
occupied. 

On  the  same  side  of  the  river — and  I 
am  speaking  of  the  right-hand  bank  as 
you  go  with  the  stream — are  the  most 
important  public  buildings,  all  modern 
and  substantial,  the  palaces  of  the  Gov- 
ernor-General and  of  the  military  com- 
mander, the  museum,  and  a  whole  array 


TIFLIS  AND    TRANS-CAUCASIA.       47 

of  public  offices,  as  well  as  the  Court 
House,  which  last  I  had  the  good  for- 
tune to  visit  in  company  with  his  Excel- 
lency the  Chief  Judge.  We  happened 
upon  a  very  interesting  scene  in  the 
Court  House,  and  a  very  unusual  one, 
even  in  Russia.  The  proclamation  of 
the  new  Czar  announcing  his  accession 
to  the  throne  contained,  as  usual,  a 
clause  providing  for  a  certain  reduction 
in  the  sentences  of  all  criminals  already 
condemned  by  the  courts;  and  we  en- 
tered the  court  room  at  Tiflis  just  as 
the  members  of  the  court,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  President,  were  taking 
their  seats  to  apply  this  act  of  grace  in 
the  cases  of  perhaps  twenty  men  who 
had  been  tried  recently  and  had  not  yet 
taken  their  departure  for  their  places  of 
punishment.  I  did  not  count  the  num- 
ber of  the  judges  upon  the  bench,  but  I 
should  say  that  there  were  four  or  five 
of  them,  all  dressed  in  a  kind  of  semi- 
military   uniform   such   as   I   had   never 


48  ^A  STERN  JO URNE  YS. 

seen  worn  by  judges  elsewhere.  The 
criminals  were  made  to  stand  up  in 
line  on  the  left  hand  of  the  court.  The 
clerk  called  their  names,  and  each  indi- 
vidual was  identified.  Then  the  imperial 
decree  was  read,  and  the  amount  of  re- 
duction in  punishment  was  written  down 
for  each,  after  which  they  were  removed 
from  the  court  room  under  guard.  They 
were  not  an  attractive  set  of  characters, 
though  they  were  mostly  young  men, 
and  the  proceedings  did  not  seem  to 
have  much  interest  for  them.  I  asked 
the  Chief  Judge  what  was  the  nature  of 
their  offences,  and  he  said  that  they  were 
brigands  or  highwaymen.  The  proceed- 
ing was  grave  enough,  but  it  lacked  the 
formality  and  the  solemnity  which  it 
might  have  worn  in  the  court  rooms  of 
some  other  countries. 

The  museum  is  a  very  attractive  es- 
tablishment, with  collections  of  animals, 
birds,  plants,  minerals,  primitive  human 
habitations,  and  everything  available  to 


TIFLIS  AND    TRANS-CAUCASIA,        49 

illustrate  the  natural  history  of  the  Cau- 
casus, and  the  modes  of  life  prevailing 
among  the  earlier  inhabitants  of  the  coun- 
try, as  well  as  those  of  the  present  day. 
It  is  under  the  learned  direction  of  Dr. 
De  Radde,  and  its  arrangement  and  clas- 
sification are  practical  and  instructive. 
The  establishment  fills  the  three  floors  of 
a  large  building,  and  also  extends  into  an 
adjoining  garden,  where  it  occupies  a 
great  deal  of  space. 

In  Tiflis,  as  in  every  other  Oriental  or 
semi-Oriental  town,  the  most  interesting 
lounging  place  is  the  bazaar.  As  a  mart 
for  Oriental  carpets,  embroideries,  silks, 
gauzes,  and  so  on,  Tiflis  is  as  good  as 
any  other  place,  and  perhaps  better  than 
most — better,  I  might  almost  say,  than 
Constantinople  itself.  All  sorts  of  East- 
ern rugs — cheap,  dear,  commonplace,  and 
of  high  art — are  to  be  found  there  in 
abundance.  But,  strange  to  say,  it  takes 
perseverance  and  determination  to  get  at 
them.     I  never  saw  traders  who  seem  so 


5 O  EA  STERN  JO  URNE  VS. 

indifferent  to  the  chances  of  selling  ;  and 
I  would  advise  my  friends  who  may  go 
there  to  get  some  important  banker,  or 
wholesale  dealer  or  other  commercial 
magnate,  to  go  with  them  to  the  bazaar 
and  overawe  the  dealers  so  that  they  will 
bring  out  their  best  wares.  This  is  es- 
pecially the  case  with  carpets  and  em- 
broideries. If  you  are  looking  for  silver 
goods,  or  weapons,  or  Caucasian  hats,  you 
may  find  merchants  who  will  exhibit  their 
whole  stock  and  allow  you  to  choose  what 
you  want  without  attempting  to  make  you 
buy  the  less  salable  articles ;  but  among 
the  undisguised  old  Orientals,  Hindoos, 
for  example,  it  is  not  easy  to  get  a  sight 
of  the  best  in  the  shop,  and  not  so  easy  to 
buy  it  after  it  has  been  shown.  They 
will  ask  you  twice  the  genuine  price  and 
stick  to  it  as  if  their  salvation  depended 
on  it ;  and  when  they  come  down  to  bed- 
rock, they  show  that  they  are  doing  you 
a  favor  which  only  a  life  of  peace  and  hu- 
mility  ever  afterward  on  your  part  can 


TIFLIS  AND    TRANS-CAUCASIA.        51 

justify.  However,  the  dealers  in  Orien- 
tal merchandise  are  numerous  and  their 
stores  very  extensive,  and  you  can  loiter 
and  chatter  and  bargain  in  them  day  after 
day  with  perpetual  amusement  and  the 
agreeable  conviction  that  you  are  not  so 
much  cheated  after  all.  One  delightful 
old  Persian  hadji,  who  thought  he  spoke 
French,  and  from  whom  after  several 
visits  I  bought  some  little  traps,  embraced 
me  as  we  parted,  exclaiming  effusively : 
"Oh,  moncher  amant!  "  and  I  am  sorry 
I  may  never  see  him  again. 

What  Tiflis  seems  to  lack  is  means  of 
amusement.  If  there  is  a  theatre  there,  I 
did  not  find  it  out,  and  the  only  substi- 
tute seemed  to  be  the  occasional  diver- 
tisements  of  two  or  three  concert  gar- 
dens. We  went  to  one  of  these  one 
evening.  The  garden  was  very  large 
and  partially  lighted,  consisting  mainly 
of  alleyways  opened  among  clumps  of 
trees  and  shrubbery  ;  and  the  public  was 
not   numerous.      We   heard  with   atten- 


52  ^A STERN  JO  URNE  YS. 

tion  a  concert  of  Armenian  instrumental 
music,  but  its  prevailing  sentiment  was 
rather  sad  and  its  technical  perfections 
were  limited. 

The  time  to  move  on  having  come, 
we  went  to  the  office  of  the  postal  estab- 
lishment to  make  arrangements  for  the 
journey  northward.  Not  merely  the 
transportation  of  the  mails,  but  also  the 
carrying  of  passengers  over  the  Georgian 
military  road,  is  in  the  hands  of  the  Gov- 
ernment, and  we  went  to  the  office  duly 
fortified  with  certifications  of  introduc- 
tion. It  was  situated  beside  an  im- 
mense  yard  with  an  extraordinary  array 
of  carriages  of  different  kinds.  Stating  to 
the  official  in  charge  the  number  of  our 
party  and  the  time  when  we  desired  to 
start,  he  advised  us  to  examine  the  car- 
riages and  select  those  we  might  prefer. 
Accordingly  we  chose  for  our  principal 
vehicle  what  they  call  a  kareta.  It  is  a 
big  and  heavy  conveyance  swung  upon 
leather  straps  such  as  we  used  to  call  Con- 


TIFLIS  AND    TRANS-CAUCASIA,        53 

cord  thorough-braces,  and  requiring  six 
horses  to  draw  it.  In  front  is  the  driver*s 
seat,  wide  enough  to  hold  two  or  three 
persons.  Behind  and  above,  under  a 
projecting  hood,  there  is  a  seat  with  room 
for  three  passengers.  Back  of  this,  and 
still  higher  on  the  top,  is  the  place  for  lug- 
gage, and  the  size  of  this  can  be  esti- 
mated when  I  say  that  the  baggage  of 
our  whole  party,  seven  to  ten  heavy 
trunks,  was  firmly  packed  there  and  fas- 
tened so  that  it  could  not  move.  Under- 
neath, in  the  centre  of  the  vehicle,  is  a 
coup6,  with  glass  windows  on  each  side, 
in  which  three  persons  can  be  trans- 
ported ;  and  behind  the  body  of  the 
coach  is  a  seat  for  a  single  individual,  ap- 
parently intended  for  a  guard.  With  the 
passengers,  the  luggage,  the  driver,  and 
the  guide,  whose  duty  is  to  supervise  the 
expedition  and  to  see  to  getting  fresh 
horses  whenever  they  may  be  necessary, 
the  whole  outfit — horses,  carriage,  and 
contents — must    have     weighed     about 


54  ^A  STERN  JO  URNE  YS, 

eight  tons,  and  it  turned  out  that  a  very 
comfortable  mode  of  travelling  it  was. 

In  addition  to  the  kareta,  with  its  six 
horses,  and  I  should  mention  that  four  of 
these  were  on  the  wheel  and  two  in  the 
lead,  we  took  a  two-horse  carriage  like 
an  English  phaeton,  in  which  three  or 
four  passengers  could  conveniently  find 
room.  Our  party  had  become  consider- 
ably enlarged  beyond  its  first  dimensions 
by  the  presence  of  one  or  two  English 
gentlemen  and  also  by  that  of  a  new  Ital- 
ian Minister  to  Persia,  who  was  obliged, 
owing  to  the  impossibility  of  getting 
to  Baku  by  rail,  to  go  through  the 
mountains  and  to  Astrakhan,  in  order 
to  find  a  steamboat  which  would  take 
him  across  the  Caspian. 

Before  leaving  New  York,  my  friend, 
Mrs.  MacGahan,  had  advised  me  to  se- 
cure, if  possible,  the  services  of  Alexan- 
der Mamatsett  as  our  guide  from  Tiflis 
to  Vladikavkaz,  and  we  were  fortunate 
enough  to  find  him  disengaged.     He  is  a 


TIFLIS  AND    TRANS-CAUCASIA,        55 

giant,  dark,  evidently  a  Georgian,  dressed 
in  Caucasian  costume,  and  speaking  only 
his  native  language  and  Russian ;  and 
when  my  statement  that  I  had  asked  for 
him  on  the  advice  of  Mrs.  MacGahan 
was  translated  to  him,  a  smile  spread 
over  his  features  as  he  said,  "  Oh,  yes ; 
I  remember  her  with  pleasure,  and  shall 
be  delighted  to  be  of  service  to  any 
friend  of  hers." 

The  next  morning  at  nine  o'clock  we 
started  with  a  bright  sunshine,  though 
the  mountains  in  the  distance  were  still 
covered  with  clouds  which  made  them 
invisible.  Our  six  horses  seemed  at  first 
rather  light  for  so  heavy  a  cargo,  but  the 
pace  at  which  we  set  out  was  lively. 
We  had  scarcely  got  out  of  the  city  when 
we  overtook  two  or  three  trains  of  carts, 
and  when  they  did  not  get  out  of  the 
way  rapidly  enough  Mamatsett  would 
take  the  big  whip  from  the  hand  of  our 
coachman  and  lay  it  over  the  shoulders 
of  the  delaying  cartmen.     The  first  one 


56  ^A  STERN-  JO  URNE  YS, 

he  struck  turned  in  a  rage,  but  the  mo- 
ment he  saw  who  it  was  his  anger  seemed 
to  disappear,  and  he  took  his  flogging 
with  meekness  and  almost  with  an  ex- 
pression of  satisfaction. 

About  fifteen  miles  from  Tiflis  we 
came  upon  the  old  town  of  Mtskhet,  for- 
merly one  of  the  capitals  of  Georgia,  a 
place  of  very  curious  interest,  bearing  all 
the  marks  of  extreme  antiquity.  The 
cathedral  is  described  as  built  in  the 
fourth  century,  and  a  number  of  the  Bag- 
ratide  kings  are  said  to  be  buried  there. 
Tamerlane  destroyed  it  at  the  end  of  the 
fifteenth  century,  but  it  was  rebuilt  a  hun- 
dred years  or  so  later.  A  striking  feat- 
ure of  Mtskhet,  as  of  other  important 
Georgian  towns,  is  a  great  number  of  an- 
cient towers  rising  to  a  height  of  sixty  or 
eighty  feet,  belonging  apparently  to  dif- 
ferent antique  strongholds,  and  scattered 
all  about  the  heights  and  hillsides  as  if  to 
look  out  for  some  approaching  foe.  As 
we  did  not  belong  to  that  category,  we 


TIFLIS  AND    TRANS-CAUCASIA.        57 

drove  off  with  some  regret  at  our  inabil- 
ity to  stay  long  enough  to  explore,  at 
least,  the  cathedral  and  the  royal  tombs. 

During  the  rest  of  the  day  we  passed 
many  cultivated  farms,  all  on  elevations 
considerably  above  the  road,  where  the 
farmers  were  busy  ploughing  small  fields, 
or  making  their  earliest  crop  of  hay  ;  and 
they  were  good  farmers,  too,  judging  by 
the  neatness  with  which  their  work  was 
done.  As  the  afternoon  wore  on,  we 
came  into  a  land  where  the  grass  in  the 
valleys  was  very  lovely ;  where  the  for- 
ests were  made  up  of  large  trees  richly 
furnished  with  foliage  ;  and  we  began  to 
get  misty  glimpses  of  the  great  central 
chain  of  the  Caucasus. 

Thus  the  scenery  was  extremely  va- 
ried, picturesque  and  beautiful.  The 
Aragva  presently  became  its  most  at- 
tractive feature,  now  flowing  smoothly 
through  meadows,  and  now  roaring  in 
ravines  and  cataracts.  Our  chief  atten- 
tion, however,  was  given  to  that  famous 


58  £A  STERN  JO  URNE  YS. 

piece  of  engineering,  the  military  road, 
also  a  monument  of  the  genius  of  Prince 
Michael  Woronzoff.  For  a  mountain 
highway  nothing  better  could  be  im- 
agined. Winding  along  the  edge  of  the 
river  or  climbing  over  a  hill  where  the 
solid  rock  had  been  blasted  or  carved  out 
to  make  room  for  the  roadway,  it  was 
everywhere  of  equal  width,  thoroughly 
macadamized^  smooth  and  even,  and  kept 
in  perfect  repair  in  every  part.  We  saw 
workmen  at  a  dozen  places  during  that 
day's  drive  putting  in  new  masses  of 
broken  stone  to  fill  up  inequalities,  and 
rolling  them  down  with  heavy  machines. 
As  soon  as  we  got  fairly  away  from 
the  city's  traffic,  we  began  to  drive  like 
fury.  Up  hill  or  down,  the  rate  of  going 
was  almost  always  the  same,  and  some- 
times when  going  down  it  became  rather 
alarming  to  the  nerves.  As  the  road  had 
to  follow  the  inequalities  of  the  moun- 
tains, and  in  many  places  was  carried  out 
around   projecting  crags,  it  was  impos- 


TIFLIS  AND    TRANS-CAUCASIA.        jg 

sible  to  see  whether  or  not  other  carriages 
were  coming  to  meet  us  on  the  other 
side  of  the  projection.  On  the  one  hand 
was  the  solid  wall  of  the  mountain,  and 
on  the  other  a  precipice  of  perhaps  five 
hundred  or  a  thousand  feet  down.  On 
the  outer  side  of  the  road,  the  side 
toward  the  precipice,  there  was  every- 
where a  solid  stone  wall  laid  in  mortar 
and  about  three  feet  high ;  but  if,  when 
rushing  down  hill  at  the  rate  of  twelve 
miles  an  hour,  your  equipage,  weighing 
so  many  tons,  should  strike  in  turning  a 
corner  upon  another  carriage  and  cargo, 
whether  heavier  or  lighter,  the  result 
would  be  a  collision,  and  the  wall  of  three 
feet  in  height  would  not  avail  to  prevent 
one  party  or  the  other  from  bouncing 
over  the  precipice.  This  consideration 
did  not  seem  to  occur  either  to  Mamat- 
sett  or  the  coachman,  and  as  we  ap- 
proached some  of  these  little  turns  it 
was  impossible  not  to  imagine  that  this 
time  we  might  catch  up  with  disaster; 


6o  ^A  STERN  JO  URNE  YS. 

yet  there  was  never  any  real  trouble. 
Our  fears  always  proved  to  be  ground- 
less, and  we  swung  around  the  projec- 
tion of  the  mountain  just  as  smoothly  on 
the  lower  side  as  we  had  swung  toward 
it  on  the  upper.  Yet  it  made  an  exciting 
and  breakneck  sort  of  coaching,  and  we 
were  very  glad  when  at  night,  after  hav- 
ing completed  half  the  length  of  the  mili- 
tary road,  we  stopped  before  the  com- 
fortable post-house  in  the  old  Georgian 
village  of  Mleta. 

When  we  delivered  the  official  recom- 
mendation which  we  had  procured  at 
Tiflis,  advising  the  keeper  of  the  post- 
house  that  the  reserved  imperial  apart- 
ments were  to  be  opened  for  our  use, 
he  said  :  "  I  am  very  sorry,  but,  unfortu- 
nately, you  come  a  little  too  late.  His 
Excellency  the  Persian  Minister,  with  his 
suite,  arrived  here  an  hour  ago  on  his 
way  home  from  the  coronation  at  Mos- 
cow ;  and  we  have  been  obliged  to  put 
him  in  possession  of  those  apartments ; 


TIFLIS  AND    TRANS-CAUCASIA.        6 1 

however,  we  think  that  we  can  make 
you  comfortable,  and  that  you  will  not 
have  to  undergo  any  serious  inconven- 
ience/' 

So  it  turned  out  for  the  whole  party, 
excepting  the  Italian  Minister  to  Persia, 
whose  lodgings  were  inferior  to  the  aver- 
age. But  when  I  condoled  with  him  the 
next  morning,  he  said  that  he  had  slept 
perfectly,  and  that  there  was  really  noth- 
ing to  lament  in  the  incident. 


THROUGH  THE  DARIAL  PASS  TO 
ROSTOV. 

As  we  drove  out  of  the  post-house 
yard  at  Mleta  the  next  morning,  disturb- 
ing one  or  two  lazy  and  dishevelled  camels 
that  were  loafing  about  the  stable  doors, 
we  perceived  that  at  last  we  had  before 
us  some  real  mountain  climbing.  Cross- 
ing the  south-flowing  Aragva  on  a  stone 
bridge,  we  began  the  long  ascent  of  the 
hill  which  stands  opposite  to  Mleta.  The 
road  was  precisely  of  the  same  breadth 
and  style  as  we  had  travelled  upon  the 
day  before,  but  it  wound  backward  and 
forward  up  the  hillside  in  long  reaches, 
with  a  continuous  rise  that  put  rapid 
driving  out  of  the  question.  The  spec- 
tacle, however,  was   altogether   superb, 

and  we  were  glad   to  study  it  slowly. 
62 


THROUGH  DARIAL  PASS  TO  ROSTOV,  63 

Below  US  lay  the  village  we  had  just  left. 
Behind  it  rose  another  mountain  of  more 
moderate  dimensions  than  that  we  were 
ascending.  In  its  cultivated  spots  and  its 
many  little  hay  fields  the  farmers  were 
making  the  most  of  the  morning.  Fur- 
ther along  to  the  northeast  an  old  castle 
stood  out  upon  crags  that  projected 
above  the  river ;  and  the  imagination 
could  easily  go  back  to  the  time  when 
these  pristine  strongholds  had  each  its 
garrison  of  freebooters,  and  fighting, 
plundering  and  devastation  were  the  rule 
and  the  business  of  the  land.  But  now 
all  was  peace  and  repose.  There  was  no 
garrison,  no  military  display,  and  no  flag 
flying  from  any  pinnacle.  There  was  no 
indication  that  even  a  policeman  was 
within  call,  yet  every  one  felt  that  the 
power  which  had  reduced  the  half-savage 
tribes  of  the  mountains  to  order,  was 
there  to  maintain  and  protect  the  civil- 
ization whose  foundations  it  had  laid. 
It  was  a  long  as  well  as  a  slow  road, 


64  ^^  STERN  JO URNE  YS. 

and  presently,  as  we  approached  the  sum- 
mit, the  snows  began  to  appear  in  heavy 
drifts  along  the  sides  of  it.  When  we 
reached  our  first  change  of  horses  we 
had  nearly  gained  the  ridge  of  the  Kres- 
tovaya  Gora,  the  "  mountain  of  the 
crosses,**  so  called  because  two  stone 
crosses  have  been  erected  there,  one  of 
them  very  ancient,  attributed  to  Queen 
Thamara,  and  the  other  a  modern  crea- 
tion of  sixty  years  ago.  There  is  a  vil- 
lage of  some  shops  and  several  houses, 
with  an  attractive  old  church  that  invites 
the  traveller  to  come  in  and  say  his  pray- 
ers. The  height  of  this  mountain,  by  the 
way,  is  eight  thousand  feet  above  the  sea 
level,  and  it  is  only  a  short  distance  be- 
yond the  summit  that  the  descent  begins, 
leading  down  into  the  valley  of  the  impet- 
uous north-flowing  Terek,  and  through 
a  series  of  mountain  landscapes  of  peer- 
less and  almost  inexpressible  magnifi- 
cence. 

From  the  top  of  the  Krestovaya  Gora, 


THROUGH  DA  RIAL  PASS  TO  ROSTOV,  65 

past  Kasbek,  through  the  gorge  of  Darial, 
until  the  crossing  of  the  mountains  is  com- 
pleted and  we  find  the  Terek  flowing  in 
peace  and  quiet  through  green  meadows 
near  Vladikavkaz,  the  very  opposite  of 
the  fury  with  which  it  forces  itself  among 
the  mountain  reefs,  there  is  a  continuous 
scene  of  rocky  peaks,  of  noble  mountain 
openings  and  gorges,  of  portentous  over- 
shadowing cliffs,  of  broken  and  dilapi- 
dated old  castles,  which  make  of  this 
roadway  of  forty  or  fifty  miles  one  of 
the  wonders  and  marvels  of  the  earth. 
It  is  impossible  to  think  of  it  without 
longing  to  be  there  again,  dashing  along 
the  riverside  and  through  the  narrow 
mountain  defiles,  with  the  same  spirited 
horses,  and  the  same  enthusiastic  giant  of 
a  Caucasian  guide.  The  traveller  who 
has  not  yet  had  this  experience,  is  to  be 
envied  provided  it  is  still  in  his  power  to 
procure  it  for  himself ;  and  he  or  she  to 
whom  it  is  possible  and  who  does  not  at 
once  set  out  to  drive  over  the  Kresto- 


66  J^A  STERN  JO  URNE  YS. 

vaya  Gora,  and  through  the  Darial  Pass, 
is  to  be  pitied  indeed. 

We  arrived  in  the  village  of  Kasbek 
at  about  one  o'clock,  but  the  glory  of  the 
mountain  v^ras  all  hidden  in  the  clouds. 
Even  the  monastery,  which  is  at  a  point 
on  the  mountain's  flank  about  eighteen 
hundred  feet  higher  than  the  village, 
could  not  be  seen ;  and  it  was  not  pos- 
sible even  to  speculate  at  what  elevation 
the  ancient  story  had  fixed  the  point 
where  Prometheus  was  chained  to  the 
rock  and  vultures  came  to  torment  him. 
These  were  serious  privations  for  which 
a  very  good  luncheon  afforded  no  satis- 
factory indemnity.  But  all  such  losses 
seemed  trivial  when  we  resumed  our 
drive  and  began  once  more  to  pass  be- 
tween the  barriers  of  the  ever-varying 
peaks  which  hemmed  in  our  way  on 
either  side. 

These  peaks  rose  on  the  east  and  west 
to  a  height  of  four  thousand  to  six  thou- 
sand feet  above  the  level  of  the  road. 


THROUGH  DARIAL  PASS  TO  ROSTOV.  6/ 

They  were  bare,  sharp-pointed,  and  often 
as  slender  in  appearance  as  a  man's  fin- 
gers  held  up  against  the  light ;  and  far 
below  them  the  massive  forest  came 
down  almost  to  the  river  along  whose 
banks  we  were  driving.  It  was  a  tre- 
mendous, an  amazing,  spectacle,  and  we 
were  through  with  it  altogether  too 
soon. 

About  three  o'clock  we  came  to  an 
enlargement  of  the  narrow  valley,  with 
a  little  low  fort  of  queer  construction, 
evidently  designed  to  block  the  road 
against  an  enemy.  A  little  further  on, 
at  the  other  end  of  the  same  enlarge- 
ment, there  was  another  fort  of  similar 
construction.  Some  one  said  that  these 
forts  were  built  by  Schamyl  in  his  strug- 
gle to  maintain  the  independence  of  his 
Mohammedan  tribe,  and  to  continue  his 
war  against  the  power  of  Russia.  We 
gazed  at  the  fortifications  with  renewed 
interest ;  but  I  believed  the  story  was  al- 
together a  fiction,  and  on  looking  in  the 


68  ^A  STERN  JO  URNE  YS. 

books  I  am  confirmed  in  this  conclusion. 
Very  likely  Schamyl  may  have  made  a 
stand  in  the  Darial  Pass,  at  some  period, 
but  he  could  not  have  remained  there 
for  any  length  of  time.  That  vital  artery 
has  long  been  too  important  for  Russia 
to  allow  such  an  enemy  to  hold  it  even 
for  a  day;  and,  besides,  the  last  desper- 
ate effort  of  Schamyl  was  made  much 
further  east,  at  Ghunib,  in  Daghestan, 
where  Prince  Bariatinski  took  him  pris- 
oner, and  put  an  end  to  his  wild  dream 
of  an  independent  Mohammedan  State 
in  the  Caucasus. 

If  the  passage  of  the  mountains  was 
like  a  battle  in  the  intensity  of  its  interest 
and  its  excitement,  the  arrival  at  Vladi- 
kavkaz was  like  the  repose  which  follows 
after  a  victory  won.  With  its  forty-odd 
thousand  people,  Vladikavkaz  is  not  ex- 
actly a  Russian  or  a  Caucasian  town,  but 
has  qualities  of  both,  and  is  rather  like  a 
holiday  that  comes  between  days  of  toil 
and   agitation.     The   site   is   level ;    not 


THROUGH  DARIAL  PASS  TO  ROSTOV,  69 

even  hills  are  visible,  except  at  a  dis- 
tance, and  the  two  or  three  long  and 
quiet  streets,  stretching  at  right  angles 
to  each  other,  suggest  repose  and  rest. 
Yet  I  am  bound  to  say  that  the  shops  are 
peculiarly  attractive  from  the  number  of 
Oriental  and  Caucasian  articles  that  are 
offered  in  them.  There  is  no  such  ex- 
treme variety  as  at  Tiflis,  but  with  pa- 
tience and  perseverance  you  may  pick 
up  little  things  that  you  have  not  been 
able  to  procure  in  the  metropolis;  and, 
finally,  when  you  take  your  seat  in  the 
train  for  Rostov -on -the -Don  you  are 
freshened  with  the  consciousness  of  an 
enterprise  rounded  out  successfully,  and 
completed  to  your  satisfaction. 

One  of  the  best  views  of  the  great 
Caucasian  chain  is  that  gained  from  the 
railway  to  Rostov ;  and  while  the  snowy 
summits  of  Elbruz  form  its  most  con- 
spicuous feature,  the  long  line  of  lofty 
and  broken  peaks  and  of  massive  forest- 
covered  slopes  remains  in  the  memory 
10 


70  EA  STERN  JO  URNE  YS, 

as   one   of   the   grandest   objects   in   na- 
ture. 

Equal,  however,  in  interest  is  the  suc- 
cession of  Cossack  villages  planted  along 
the  line  of  the  railway,  and  doubtless 
throughout  the  province,  at  pretty  regu- 
lar intervals.  According  to  the  latest 
official  figures,  there  are  about  eight 
hundred  thousand  of  these  people  along 
the  Don,  and  very  interesting  people  I 
found  them  to  be.  Known  to  the  out- 
side world  chiefly  as  cavalry  soldiers, 
those  who  have  had  an  opportunity  of 
seeing  them  at  home,  or  have  read  what 
has  been  written  about  them,  and,  above 
all,  that  wonderful  Cossack  novel  of  Go- 
goFs,  "  Taras  Boulba,"  or  Tolstof  s  ''  Cos- 
sacks,** understand  that  they  are  not  with- 
out some  of  the  most  lasting  and  admir- 
able traits  of  human  nature.  As  we  saw 
them  in  the  country  of  the  Don,  agricul- 
ture is  their  main  occupation,  and  no  one 
would  imagine  that  they  were  warriors 
also.    The  country  is  what  an  Illinois  man 


THROUGH  DA  RIAL  PASS  TO  ROSTOV, 


71 


would  describe  as  rolling,  with  ridges  of 
no  great  elevation  here  and  there,  but 
mainly  level.  The  soil  seemed  black  and 
rich,  but  when  we  passed  over  it  the 
spring  crops  had  scarcely  been  planted. 
The  herds  of  cattle  were  large,  and  each 
herd  had  two  or  three  men  and  dogs  to 
keep  it  from  wandering  too  far.  There 
appeared  to  be  no  fences  to  mark  the 
boundaries  of  the  estates.  The  houses 
were  small,  and  every  village  had  its 
church.  The  general  aspect  of  the  land 
and  people  was  peaceful,  and  it  looked 
as  if  any  form  of  political  or  intellectual 
agitation  was  out  of  the  question  there. 

We  were  now  beginning  the  railway 
part  of  our  excursion,  and  this  is  the 
place  to  speak  of  the  Russian  railways. 
I  have  travelled  upon  them  at  various 
seasons  and  in  various  directions,  and  I 
testify  that  they  are  safe,  comfortable, 
and  agreeable.  In  this  journey  from 
Vladikavkaz  to  Rostov  the  distance  is 
about   four   hundred    and    thirty    miles, 


72  ^A  STERN  JO  URNE  YS, 

and  it  is  made  by  the  postal  trains  in 
about  twenty-four  hours,  or,  including 
stops,  at  the  rate  of  twenty  miles  an 
hour.  The  tracks  are  always  solid  and 
smooth,  and  the  cars  are  excellent.  They 
are  much  wider  than  ours — wide  enough, 
in  fact,  to  admit  of  an  inclosed  corridor 
running  the  whole  length  of  the  car  on 
one  side,  with  doors  opening  into  all 
the  compartments.  These  are  spacious 
enough,  with  two  rows  of  broad  seats 
facing  each  other  and  extending  across 
the  compartment  at  right  angles  to  the 
corridor,  though,  except  at  night,  only 
the  bottom  seats  are  used.  These  seats 
are  long  enough  and  wide  enough  for  a 
large  person  to  lie  in  comfortably  when 
the  beds  are  made  up.  The  traveller 
takes  as  many  places  as  he  desires,  and, 
if  he  wishes  for  the  exclusive  use  of  a 
compartment,  he  pays  for  it  and  has  it. 
Russian  people  when  travelling  take 
with  them  their  own  sheets  and  rugs  ; 
but  sheets  and    pillows  can   always   be 


THROUGH  DARIAL  PASS  TO  ROSTOV. 


73 


procured  in  a  perfect  state  of  cleanli- 
ness and  at  a  reasonable  charge  from 
the  porter  in  the  car.  The  sleeping 
seems  to  be  better  than  in  our  most 
luxurious  sleeping  cars.  The  lavatory 
arrangements  are  also  satisfactory,  and 
the  neatness  of  the  whole  establishment 
leaves  nothing  to  be  desired.  In  fact,  I 
have  never  seen  any  reason  to  complain 
of  this  part  of  the  Russian  railway  ar- 
rangements. The  journey  to  Rostov, 
and  the  subsequent  longer  journey  from 
there  to  Moscow,  landed  us  at  our  des- 
tinations with  less  fatigue  and  less  dis- 
turbance of  the  nerves  than  we  should 
be  likely  to  experience  in  going  from 
New  York  to  Chicago  or  to  Omaha. 

I  don*t  think  that  dining  cars  are 
known  upon  the  Russian  railways ;  at 
any  rate  I  have  never  seen  them ;  but 
the  restaurants  in  the  station  houses  are 
pleasant,  and  the  stops  are  long  enough 
to  allow  you  to  get  what  you  want. 
You  can  take  a  seat  at  the  table  or  re- 


74  EA  STERN  JO  URNE  YS, 

fresh  yourself  standing ;  and  at  almost 
every  station  you  can  procure  those  in- 
comparable products  of  the  Russian  cui- 
sine, stchy  and  borsh.  There  is  nothing 
in  the  culinary  science  of  any  other  land 
known  to  me  to  be  compared  with  these 
two  kinds  of  soup.  The  stchy  has  for  its 
essential  element  cabbage,  and  the  borsh 
is  based  upon  beets.  What  other  mate- 
rials go  in  with  these  I  shall  not  under- 
take to  say,  except  that  beef  plays  a  great 
role  in  the  drama  of  the  stchy ;  and,  as 
borsh  is  white  when  it  is  served,  I  sus- 
pect that  there  may  be  milk  in  it.  Yet  I 
solemnly  declare  that,  having  procured 
an  authoritative  Russian  cook  book,  and 
having  myself  carefully  studied  the  pre- 
scriptions for  both  these  works  of  art, 
and  accurately  translated  the  same,  I 
have  not  yet  succeeded  in  finding  any 
Western  cuisinier  or  cuisiniere  who  could 
make  and  serve  them  in  a  style  that 
would  please  an  international  expert. 
But  while   I   am   saying   this,  it  is   my 


THROUGH  DARIAL  PASS  TO  ROSTOV.   75 

duty  to  add  that  there  is  also  another 
Russian  soup  which  I  have  heard  much 
celebrated  in  that  empire,  namely,  the 
botvinia.  It  is  white  and  is  served  cold, 
and  I  detest  it. 

But  without  pausing  to  debate  these 
recondite  subjects,  let  us  not  forget  one 
article  that  is  always  to  be  found  at 
every  railway  restaurant  in  Russia,  as  in 
every  palace  and  every  hut,  always  in 
transcendent  perfection,  such  as  all  other 
peoples  are  not  able  to  rival.  I  mean 
tea.  An  express  train  sends  its  hundred 
passengers  into  a  commonplace  railway 
station,  and  standing  on  a  vast  counter 
before  them  are  a  hundred  glasses  of 
tea.  Some  have  thin  slices  of  lemon 
for  those  who  like  that  condiment;  and 
others  are  served  simply  with  as  much 
sugar  as  you  like  ;  or,  if  you  want  a  drop 
of  cream,  you  can  get  that  too ;  but  the 
tea  itself  is  something  ecstatic,  and  you 
may  voyage  all  around  the  earth  from 
London  to   Formosa,  and   then  back  to 


76  EA  STERN  JO  URNE  YS. 

Dover,  and  never  find  any  tea  of  such 
beautiful,  inexplicable,  delightful,  living 
exquisiteness.  What  is  the  secret?  Why 
is  it  that  other  lands  and  peoples  con- 
tinue to  exist  in  such  comparative  disa- 
bility ?  I  cannot  guess ;  but  I  know  that 
a  glass  of  Russian  tea,  or  a  cup  of  it,  if 
you  like  that  better,  is  something  to  en- 
chant an  ascetic  and  to  rejuvenate  an 
antediluvian. 

Rostov  stands  on  high  land  at  the 
head  of  the  Sea  of  Azov,  a  curious  body 
of  water,  too  shallow  to  be  much  navi- 
gated by  large  ships,  yet  of  great  impor- 
tance  from  its  fisheries  and  its  trade  in 
grain,  wool,  and  cattle.  We  saw  it  in 
the  fullness  of  the  spring  freshet,  when 
the  Don  had  flooded  an  immense  extent 
of  land  between  the  railway  embankment 
and  the  sea.  A  great  mass  of  shipping 
was  lying  at  the  wharves,  and  it  was  evi- 
dent that  the  place  was  full  of  business. 
Taganrog,  which  is  about  twenty  miles 
further  west,  used  to  be  more  important, 


THROUGH  DARIAL  PASS  TO  ROSTOV,   yy 

but  Rostov  now  seems  to  be  monopoliz- 
ing the  commerce  of  the  region.  One 
would  not  describe  Rostov  as  a  very- 
charming  or  attractive  town,  but  when 
we  came  to  drive  through  its  streets  and 
to  see  what  was  there,  we  found  it  far 
from  commonplace  or  uninteresting.  Its 
population  is  now  about  one  hundred 
thousand,  mainly  Russians,  of  course,  but 
including  a  large  representation  of  the 
business  men  of  other  nations.  We  re- 
mained there  three  days,  and  went  away 
with  the  wish  that  we  could  have  ex- 
plored it  more  completely. 


II 


VI. 

NIJNI,  THE  NEW  CITY. 

From  Rostov  to  Nijni-Novgorod  takes 
a  pretty  long  time,  with  the  slow  rail- 
ways of  Russia.  The  distance  is  over  a 
thousand  miles,  and  naturally  everybody 
breaks  the  journey  by  stopping  in  Mos- 
cow. Moscow  is  certainly  one  of  the 
most  engaging  towns  in  the  world,  and 
no  intelligent  foreigner  can  go  there  as 
often  as  he  would  wish,  or  stay  there  as 
long.  But  our  first  purpose  was  with 
Nijni-Novgorod,  because  the  annual  semi- 
oriental  fair  was  about  to  begin  there. 
Besides,  a  vast  exhibition  of  Russian  in- 
dustry and  art  had  been  organized  under 
the  patronage  of  the  Government  and 
was  already  in  full  operation.  Accord- 
ingly, without  any  unnecessary  delay,  we 

found   ourselves  at   Nijni,  quartered   in 

78 


NIJNI,    THE  NEW  CITY,  79 

one  of  the  extensive  hotels  upon  the  high 
land  which,  for  living  purposes,  forms 
the  official  and  more  desirable,  as  well  as 
the  more  picturesque,  part  of  the  city. 

In  its  physical  outlines  Nijni-Nov- 
gorod  is  not  dissimilar  to  Kiev.  There 
is  a  long  and  broad  elevation  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  two  rivers,  curving 
toward  the  south.  At  the  foot  of  this 
elevation  and  following  its  curvature  is 
the  great  river,  the  united  Oka  and  Volga 
at  Nijni,  and  the  Dnieper  at  Kiev.  Be- 
yond the  river,  on  its  left  bank,  extends 
an  immense  plain,  the  deeper  and  lower 
part  of  the  prehistoric  sea  which,  as 
geologists  assure  us,  once  spread  over 
the  greater  portion  of  Russia;  and  on 
this  plain  immense  forests  stretch  away 
and  finally  lose  themselves  on  the  north- 
ern and  eastern  horizon.  The  Volga, 
however,  is  a  much  larger  stream  than 
the  Dnieper,  and  in  its  volume  and  its 
swiftness  it  reminds  the  spectator  of  the 
Mississippi  or  the  Missouri,  except  that 


8o  ^A  STERN  JO  URNE  YS. 

its  waters  are  clearer.  Indeed,  when  we 
were  at  Nijni  there  seemed  to  be  no 
mud  at  all  mixed  with  them.  On  both 
of  these  rivers  steamboats  are  numerous, 
but  the  navigation  of  the  Volga  is  much 
the  more  important  of  the  two.  At  Nijni 
you  will  find  boats  nearly  equal  to  the 
largest  on  Long  Island  Sound,  or  to  those 
giants  that  thirty  years  ago  abounded  on 
the  Mississippi ;  and  if  you  wish  to  go  to 
Astrakhan  and  to  take  passage  down  the 
Caspian,  one  of  these  boats  is  to  be  pre- 
ferred to  the  railway.  They  are  spacious, 
clean,  comfortable,  and  the  passenger  is 
well  fed  and  transported  much  more 
speedily  than  when  he  undertakes  to  as- 
cend the  stream  by  the  same  conveyance. 
The  famous  annual  fair  was  only 
commencing  when  we  got  there ;  and 
although  we  spent  a  great  deal  of  time 
wandering  about  in  the  passages  and 
corridors  of  its  buildings,  it  certainly  did 
not  come  up,  as  an  Oriental  show,  to  the 
descriptions  which  we  had   been  in  the 


NIJNI,    THE  NEW  CITY,  gl 

habit  of  reading.  However,  in  the  few 
days  we  remained  it  improved  continu- 
ally by  arrivals  from  Central  Asia  and 
Persia,  and  we  went  away  convinced 
that  it  would  still  prove  worthy  of  its 
ancient  renown. 

But  the  exposition  of  Russian  indus- 
tries, on  the  other  hand,  far  surpassed 
any  idea  we  had  formed  about  it.  A 
vast  array  of  adequate  and  suitable 
buildings  had  been  erected  for  it,  all  on 
low  lands  on  the  left  bank  of  the  river, 
and  it  seemed  to  have  attained,  as  if  by 
magic,  an  astonishing  magnitude  and 
variety  of  development.  The  exhibition 
of  silks,  for  instance,  was  amazing,  and 
by  silks  I  mean  dress  goods  for  ladies, 
brocades  for  house  furnishing — in  fact, 
every  kind  of  silken  fabric  that  modern 
luxury  requires  and  modern  art  pro- 
duces. If  the  looms  and  the  skill  of 
France  were  exerted  to  the  utmost,  I  am 
sure  they  could  not  furnish  a  richer  or 
more   varied   show   than  was   displayed 


82  EASTERN  JO URNE  YS, 

here  at  Nijni.  It  was  really  surprising, 
not  merely  for  the  multiplicity  and  fer- 
tility of  the  artistic  genius  it  displayed, 
but  also  for  the  quantities  of  goods  ex- 
hibited ;  and  the  same  astonishment  was 
produced  by  the  examination  of  many 
other  parts  of  the  show.  Woollen  cloths 
of  every  description  and  of  the  most  ele- 
gant finish  were  there  in  abundance  and 
variety,  and  all  from  Russian  looms ;  so 
also  were  ordinary  carpetings.  Articles 
of  metal,  arms,  cutlery,  samovars,  the 
whole  round  of  goods  manufactured 
from  platinum,  iron,  steel,  and  brass  at 
Tula,  were  here  in  full  force.  So  were 
laces,  ribbons,  shoes,  millinery,  jewelry, 
enamelled  gold  and  silver ;  in  short, 
whatever  goes  to  the  decoration  of  mod- 
ern society  seems  to  be  produced  in  Rus- 
sia in  just  as  many  styles  and  just  as  ad- 
mirable as  in  any  of  the  older  and  more 
practised  countries  ;  and  when  you  turn 
to  the  ruder  arts — such  as  the  making 
of  cordage,  or  the  tanning  of  leather,  or 


NIJNI,    THE  NEW  CITY.  83 

the  weaving  of  sail  cloth — it  was  all  the 
same.  Perhaps  Russia  cannot  produce 
all  these  things  quite  as  cheaply  as 
France  or  Germany  or  England,  but  she 
produces  them  of  just  as  high  quality, 
with  taste  as  refined  and  subtle,  and  in 
quantities  sufficient  to  supply  all  her 
own  needs,  if  not  the  needs  of  all  her 
neighbors.  In  respect  of  what  may  be 
called  art  manufactures  especially  it  was 
an  amazing,  almost  a  bewildering  exhibi- 
tion, and  we  felt  that  Germany,  France, 
Austria,  Italy,  and  England  will  present- 
ly have  to  face  a  new  and  formidable 
competitor  in  the  world*s  manufacturing 
contest. 

Two  or  three  special  buildings  were 
devoted  to  the  productions  of  Siberia. 
A  great  deal  of  space  was  given  to  an 
exhibition  of  the  minerals  peculiar  to 
that  country,  and  the  collection  was 
marked  as  belonging  to  the  Czar.  Of 
articles  made  by  the  natives — such  as 
weapons,   fishing   apparatus,   snowshoes, 


84  ^A  STERN  JO  URNE  YS, 

houses,  rude  household  furniture,  and  so 
forth — there  was  an  ample  and  most  in- 
teresting display. 

One  of  the  most  important  depart- 
ments was  occupied  by  an  immense  as- 
semblage of  oil  paintings  by  Russian  art- 
ists. I  do  not  remember  precisely  how 
many  canvases  there  were,  but  I  should 
say  not  less  than  five  hundred.  Very  few 
of  them  were  by  our  old  acquaintances 
the  Verestschagins,  the  Makaroffs  and  the 
other  artists  who  have  gained  places  for 
themselves  in  the  galleries  of  the  world. 
Not  having  made  any  notes  on  the  spot, 
I  cannot  now  remember  the  names  of 
the  individual  painters,  or  attempt  to  de- 
scribe their  pictures ;  but  many  of  them 
were  such  as  would  be  admitted  in  any 
international  exhibition.  The  simple 
truth  is  that  the  Russian  school  of 
painting  is  just  as  well  established,  and 
just  as  original  and  individual,  as  the 
German  or  the  French  ;  and  it  must 
be  considered  henceforth  in  any  survey 


NIJNI,    THE  NEW  CITY,  gj 

of    the    progress    and   achievements  of 
the  art. 

The  department  of  machinery  did  not 
seem  to  be  so  complete  or  so  various  as 
I  should  have  expected  to  find  it  in  any 
other  of  the  great  countries.  But  it  was 
most  interesting ;  and,  regarded  as  an  in- 
dustrial product  only  partially  developed, 
it  seemed  most  encouraging,  though  I  am 
not  an  expert  and  cannot  undertake  to 
pronounce  a  decided  judgment.  Another 
building,  whose  contents  I  studied  with 
great  attention,  was  that  devoted  to  Chi- 
nese  productions.  This  was  the  only 
building,  it  seemed,  in  which  Russia 
could  not  claim  to  have  produced  at 
least  the  main  part;  and  I  am  bound 
also  to  add  that  it  was  rather  disappoint- 
ing. A  considerable  space  was  occupied 
by  porcelain  and  pottery,  modern,  of 
course,  and  it  was  not  very  remarkable, 
to  say  the  least.  Various  kinds  of  grain 
were  exhibited,  including  rice  and  wheat. 
But,  perhaps,  the   most  satisfactory  dis- 


12 


86  EA  STERN  JO  URNE  YS, 

play  was  that  of  silk  goods,  and  especially 
of  fabrics  of  raw  silk.  Even  with  the 
most  critical  examination  it  was  impossi- 
ble to  discover  that  China  has  yet  en- 
tered in  any  marked  degree  into  the 
modern  industrial  competition  of  the 
Western  nations. 

Very  extensive  arrangements  for  the 
accommodation  of  visitors  had  been 
made  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  exhi- 
bition. Immense  caravansaries  of  lodg- 
ing houses  had  been  erected,  and  they 
were  of  wood.  In  fact,  the  whole  space 
at  the  command  of  the  authorities  was 
packed  closely  with  these  inflammable 
structures,  and  the  idea  of  a  fire  among 
them  was  most  disturbing.  So  we  left 
Nijni  on  our  way  back  to  Moscow  rather 
sooner  than  we  had  intended,  and  yet 
those  buildings  are  still  there,  and  no 
conflagration  among  them  has  been  re- 
ported. 


VII. 

MOSCOW  AND  WARSAW, 

Is  it  possible  in  any  form  of  language 
to  describe  Moscow  ?  Is  there  any  artist 
of  the  pen  who  can  reproduce  in  his  page 
the  marvels  of  form  and  color  which  ex- 
press so  much  of  the  fascination  that 
belongs  to  this  historic  city?  It  is  a 
miracle,  this  interfusion  of  ancient  and 
modern,  this  kaleidoscope  of  Asia  and 
Europe  contending  but  neither  con- 
quered, this  unfinished  history  of  a  thou- 
sand years;  and  it  cannot  be  fully  por- 
trayed by  any  efforts  of  mere  phraseology 
or  analysis.  Besides  there  are  more 
places  in  and  about  Moscow  that  a 
stranger  ought  to  visit  than  any  other 
capital  can  boast  of  ;  and  a  month  might 
well  be  occupied  in  seeing  them.     Yet, 

let  me  try  to  point  out  some  of  the  more 

87 


88  ^A  STERN  JO  URNE  YS. 

salient  and  impressive  features  of  the 
scene,  and  with  them,  perhaps,  some  of 
the  more  remarkable  characteristics  of 
the  Russian  people ;  and  in  doing  this  I 
shall  endeavor  to  speak  only  of  facts,  and 
not  of  the  inferences  or  suggestions  of 
others. 

The  heart  of  Moscow  is  the  Kremlin, 
and  whatever  injuries  it  may  have  re- 
ceived when  Napoleon  attempted  to  de- 
stroy it,  they  have  all  been  obliterated  by 
most  careful  restoration.  The  Kremlin  is 
the  ancient  citadel,  a  fortress  surrounded 
by  a  wall  of  undetermined  antiquity  a  mile 
and  a  quarter  in  length,  high  and  solid 
enough  to  resist  cavalry  and  infantry,  but 
not  artillery.  Within  this  wall  are  several 
churches,  two  imperial  palaces,  two  mon- 
asteries, an  arsenal,  and  a  museum  called 
the  Treasury,  where  are  preserved  the 
coronation  robes  of  every  Czar  and  Czar- 
ina, the  presents  made  to  them  on  their 
accession  to  the  throne,  or  their  mar- 
riages, and   a  great  variety  of  valuable 


MOSCOW  AND    WARSAW,  89 

articles  possessed  by  them  during  their 
lives.  It  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
and  interesting  collections  in  the  world, 
and  the  worth  of  the  jewels  in  the  im- 
perial crowns  and  fastened  on  the  impe- 
rial mantles,  and  even  on  saddles  and 
bridles,  must  be  something  extraordi- 
nary. The  gowns  worn  by  the  Czarinas 
at  their  coronation  are  all  there,  with 
their  gloves  and  even  their  shoes  and 
stockings ;  and  they  show  plainly  that, 
since  the  time  of  the  great  Catherine, 
most  of  these  imperial  ladies  have  been 
of  slender  form,  and  have  worn  such 
small  shoes  that  even  a  modern  belle 
might  be  proud  of  them.  The  presents 
to  the  new  Czar  were  also  deposited 
there,  and  I  noticed  attentively  the  gift 
of  the  Mikado  as  well  as  that  of  the  King 
of  Corea.  The  Mikado's  present  is  a 
peacock  in  ivory,  of  full  natural  size  and 
most  lively  action,  and  wrought  with 
such  refinement  that  every  feather  in  the 
bird's  tail  is  a  separate  piece  of  ivory  that 


go  ^A  STERN  JO  URNE  YS. 

may  be  taken  out  and  put  back  again. 
The  Corean  King's  gift  is  a  large  screen 
of  porcelain,  painted  with  extraordinary 
skill  and  delicacy,  and  apparently  the 
work  of  Japanese  artists,  since  the  living 
Coreans  cannot  do  that  kind  of  thing. 

The  religious  edifice  in  the  Kremlin 
that  one  naturally  enters  first  is  the 
Church  of  the  Assumption,  in  which  the 
Czars  are  always  crowned.  Standing  in 
the  centre  of  the  citadel,  it  has  a  very 
large  dome,  with  a  smaller  dome  at  each 
of  its  four  corners.  These  domes  are 
covered  with  gold,  as  we  were  assured, 
not  gilding.  The  interior  is  simple  in  its 
design,  but  filled  with  pictures  and  other 
ornaments.  The  space  in  the  interior  is 
small,  so  that  the  number  of  persons  who 
can  be  admitted  to  witness  the  corona- 
tion of  a  Czar  is  inconveniently  limited. 

A  religious  edifice  more  interesting  in 
itself  is  the  Voznesenski  or  Ascension 
Convent,  likewise  in  the  Kremlin,  contain- 
ing two  churches,  one  used  for  services 


MOSCOW  AND    WARSAW,  gi 

in  the  winter  and  the  other  in  the  pleas- 
ant parts  of  the  year.  We  went  there  one 
Sunday  morning  and  found  the  church 
filled ;  and  on  this  occasion,  contrary  to 
the  usual  custom  in  Russia,  there  were 
more  women  than  men  among  the  wor- 
shippers. The  convent  possesses  an  eikon, 
an  image  of  the  Virgin  of  Kazan,  which  is 
believed  to  be  endowed  with  miraculous 
powers  that  are  exercised  especially  in 
the  cases  of  sick  children.  After  the 
regular  mass  was  completed,  a  number 
of  women  came  up  to  the  officiating 
priest,  each  carrying  a  child  in  her  arms, 
and  the  priest,  reciting  a  little  prayer, 
held  up  the  eikon  to  be  kissed  by  the 
child,  or  to  be  touched.  This  ceremony 
lasted  fully  half  an  hour,  and,  as  our  party 
were  standing  watching  the  little  crea- 
tures, as,  one  after  the  other,  they  were 
brought  to  the  venerated  image,  our  in- 
terpreter touched  my  elbow  and  pointed 
to  a  large  dignified  lady,  perhaps  fifty 
years  old,  in  monastic  costume,  who  was 


p2  ^A  STERN  JO  URNE  YS, 

coming  toward  us,  accompanied  by  two 
young  nuns,  from  the  other  extremity  of 
the  church.  "  That  is  the  Lady  Abbess," 
said  he,  *'and  she  seems  to  be  coming 
to  you/*  Immediately  she  arrived,  and, 
holding  out  her  hand,  shook  hands  with 
me  and  with  the  ladies  of  the  party,  say- 
ing in  Russian  :  '^  It  is  a  great  pleasure  to 
see  Americans,  and  I  have  come  to  tell 
you  how  glad  we  are  that  you  visit  our 
church."  She  had  scarcely  turned  to  go 
away  when  another  lady,  also  large  and 
dignified,  and  richly  dressed  in  black,  but 
not  wearing  a  bonnet,  approached  from 
the  other  side  of  the  church.  "Why," 
said  the  interpreter,  **  that  is  the  Grand 
Duchess !  She  lives  in  the  monastery." 
And,  sure  enough,  she  had  come  on  the 
same  errand.  She  shook  hands  with  each 
one  of  us  in  turn,  and  said  that  she  could 
not  resist  the  impulse  to  express  her  grati- 
fication at  seeing  Americans  in  Moscow. 
This  was  most  pleasant,  and  we  received 
the  spontaneous  greetings  of  the  distin- 


MOSCOW  AND    WARSAW.  gj 

guished  ladies  with  a  deep  patriotic  satis- 
faction. 

The  next  Sunday  we  went  to  the 
morning  service  in  the  Cathedral  of  the 
Saviour,  a  vast  and  magnificent  structure 
in  granite,  commenced  under  the  late 
Emperor  Nicholas  I.  It  stands  near  the 
Kremlin,  on  the  west.  The  church  was 
crowded,  and  in  number  the  men  very 
greatly  exceeded  the  women.  This,  as  I 
have  said  before,  is  the  usual  thing  in 
Russia.  The  men  appear  to  be  more  re- 
ligious, more  passionately  devout,  than 
the  women,  and  any  great  occasion  in 
the  Church  is  likely  to  demonstrate  this 
peculiarity.  We  entered  very  soon  after 
the  service  had  begun.  The  guide  told 
me  that  about  five  thousand  people  were 
already  assembled.  There  are  no  seats 
in  the  Russian  churches,  and  we  were 
standing  in  the  crowd,  very  near  a  little 
inclosure  which  is  found  in  every  Rus- 
sian church,  where  wax  tapers  are  kept 

for  the  use  of  the  worshippers.     One  en- 
13 


94  EA  STERN  JO  URNE  YS, 

ters  and  buys  a  taper,  which  he  lights 
and  sets  up  before  the  image  of  some 
saint,  and  then,  bowing  to  the  ground, 
performs  his  devotions.  While  we  were 
there  in  the  crowd,  a  large,  elderly  man 
who  was  posted  inside  the  inclosure, 
bent  forward  to  our  guide :  '*  Are  not 
these  Americans?"  he  asked  in  Russian. 
"  Yes,  sir,"  was  the  answer.  *'  Will  you 
say  to  the  gentleman  and  the  ladies  that 
if  they  will  come  inside  here,  I  can  offer 
them  seats?"  We  accepted  most  thank- 
fully, and  occupied  the  three  chairs  he 
gave  us  as  the  service  proceeded.  When 
it  was  completed,  our  hospitable  friend 
arose  and,  reaching  his  hand  to  me,  said : 
*^  Russia  and  America  have  always  been 
friends."  "  Yes,"  I  replied,  "  and,  please 
God,  they  always  will  be ! "  As  we 
went  out  of  the  inclosure  to  look  through 
the  interior  of  the  church  the  guide 
whispered  to  me:  '*That  is  one  of  the 
great  merchants  of  Moscow." 

This  leads  me  to  recount  a  circum- 


MOSCOW  AND    WARSAW,  gj 

stance  that  illustrates  a  very  amiable  pe- 
culiarity of  Russian  character,  namely, 
kindness  and  generosity  toward  stran- 
gers. It  occurred  at  a  previous  visit  to 
Moscow,  but  that  makes  no  difference. 
Arriving  at  the  railway  station  one  morn- 
ing after  travelling  all  night,  the  com- 
partment occupied  by  my  party  in  the 
carriage  was  suddenly  invaded  by  a 
number  of  hotel  porters.  Seizing  the 
small  articles  of  our  luggage,  they  were 
going  out  with  them,  and  I  vainly  ap- 
pealed to  them  in  German  and  in  French 
to  stop.  While  this  contest  was  at  its 
height  a  tall  Russian  gentleman  in  mili- 
tary uniform  and  wearing  a  sword  came 
from  the  adjoining  compartment  and 
spoke  to  me  in  French.  "  I  see  that  you 
are  in  some  trouble,'*  he  said.  "  Will 
you  kindly  allow  me  to  assist  you?"  I 
thanked  him  most  heartily,  while  the  por- 
ters subsided.  Asking  to  what  hotel  we 
wished  to  go,  he  sent  for  the  representa- 
tive of  that  house,  who  was  waiting  near 


g6  ^A  STERN  JO  URNE  YS, 

by  in  the  station,  committed  us  to  his 
care,  saw  that  our  baggage  and  trunks 
were  all  safely  packed  in  the  carriage, 
and,  when  everything  was  completed, 
shook  hands  with  me  and  turned  away. 
I  could  hardly  thank  him  sufficiently,  es- 
pecially as  he  had  spent  fully  half  an 
hour  in  this  politeness  to  unknown  stran- 
gers, who  had  no  claim  upon  his  atten- 
tion. I  afterward  caused  inquiries  to  be 
made,  and  ascertained  that  he  was  an 
officer  of  very  high  rank  and  distinction ; 
and  I  mention  the  circumstance  here  be- 
cause it  corresponds  with  all  my  observa- 
tions  elsewhere  as  to  the  goodness  of  the 
Russian  people.  They  are  the  most 
kind-hearted  people  in  the  world.  It  is 
impossible  to  exaggerate  their  benevo- 
lence toward  strangers,  no  matter  who 
they  may  be.  As  I  thought  it  over  there 
on  the  spot,  I  was  ashamed  of  myself; 
for  I  could  not  imagine  devoting  a  whole 
half  hour  to  the  service  of  three  or  four 
unknown  foreigners  at  the  Grand  Cen- 


MOSCOW  AND    WARSAW, 


97 


tral  Station,  for  instance,  merely  because 
they  had  got  into  a  dispute  with  a  lot  of 
hotel  porters.  But  the  spontaneous  kind- 
ness of  a  Russian,  no  matter  in  what  sta- 
tion of  life,  I  have  never  seen  appealed 
to  in  vain. 

Another  church  which  every  one 
should  visit  and  study  in  Moscow  is  the 
Cathedral  of  St.  Basil  in  the  Red  Square, 
near  the  southeast  corner  of  the  Kremlin. 
It  was  begun  about  1550  and  finished  be- 
fore the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century.  It 
is  very  irregular  in  its  design,  has  eleven 
domes  of  different  forms,  and  contains  in 
the  interior  eleven  different  chapels.  It 
is  impossible  to  describe  the  wonderful 
effect  of  color  which  it  exhibits.  The 
domes  are  painted,  each  with  its  own 
pigments,  and  in  the  lapse  of  ages  the 
original  hues  have  taken  on  an  indescrib- 
able softness  that  gives  to  the  whole 
structure  a  charm  nobody  can  imagine 
who  has  not  seen  it.  I  tried  to  get  a 
photograph    that    would    reproduce    in 


gS  ^A  S  TERN  JO  URNE  YS, 

some  degree,  or  even  suggest  the  special 
qualities  of  these  colors ;  but  it  was  in 
vain.  Photographs  are  abundant  enough, 
but  they  are  all  in  bright  and  crude 
tones  that  make  them  almost  caricatures, 
and  suggest  nothing  of  the  amazing 
poetry  which  converts  this  church  into 
one  of  the  most  original  and  beautiful 
buildings  that  any  architect  has  ever  de- 
signed. There  is  a  legend  that  when  it 
was  finished  Ivan  the  Terrible,  who  was 
then  the  Czar,  put  out  the  eyes  of  the 
architect,  so  that  another  like  it  might 
never  be  built.  This  is  not  a  true  story, 
and  one  can  take  pleasure  in  diminishing 
the  list  of  cruelties  attributed  to  Ivan ; 
but,  considering  the  strangeness  and  the 
fascination  of  the  church,  it  would  have 
been  a  natural  desire  in  him  to  prevent 
the  creation  of  another  like  it. 

Another  sacred  edifice  which  one  can- 
not help  visiting  is  the  little  Iverskaia, 
or  Iberian  chapel,  standing  in  the  middle 
of  the  gateway  and  of  the  street  at  the 


MOSCOW  AND    WARSAW.  gg 

entrance  to  the  Red  Square,  near  the 
northeast  corner  of  the  Kremlin.  The 
street  here  divides,  with  ample  room  for 
carriages  on  either  side.  At  the  open 
door  of  the  chapel  there  is  always  a 
crowd  of  pious  worshippers,  and  no  one, 
except  perhaps  some  hopeless  Anarchist, 
ever  passes  by  without  crossing  himself, 
or  at  least  raising  his  hat,  in  token  of 
sympathy,  if  not  of  reverence.  The  Czar 
always  goes  first  to  this  chapel  when 
he  arrives  in  Moscow,  before  entering 
the  Kremlin  or  setting  foot  in  his  own 
house.  The  eikon  which  gives  this  pe- 
culiar interest  to  the  place  is  a  copy  of 
the  Virgin  of  Mount  Athos,  made  in 
1648,  and  bearing  upon  the  right  cheek  a 
scratch  given  by  the  sword  of  a  Tartar. 
This  sacred  image  is  very  often  carried 
through  the  streets  for  the  benefit  of 
some  sick  person.  It  is  borne  habitually 
in  a  carriage  with  six  horses,  and  is  fol- 
lowed by  a  long  procession  of  ecclesias- 
tics chanting  and  saying  prayers,  while 


lOO  ^A STERN  JO URNE  YS. 

the  people  pause  on  the  sidewalks,  many 
of  them  kneeling,  and  carriages  and 
horses  are  excluded  from  the  streets. 

Besides  the  places  we  have  mentioned, 
there  are  a  thousand  in  and  about  Mos- 
cow that  the  foreigner  would  wish  to 
visit ;  but  there  are  two  especially  which 
he  ought  not  to  miss.  One  of  these  is 
the  Romanoff  house,  the  original  city 
residence  of  the  family  whose  descend- 
ants have  ruled  Russia  now  for  nearly 
three  hundred  years.  It  is  a  solid  stone 
building  with  fifty  odd  feet  of  frontage, 
and  was  burned  out  by  the  French,  but 
has  since  been  restored  with  historical 
accuracy.  On  the  street  it  is  one  story 
high,  and  in  the  courtyard  four  stories, 
and  it  has  been  arranged  to  represent  the 
mode  of  life  usual  in  noble  Russian  fami- 
lies in  the  Middle  Ages.  The  entrance  is 
through  the  courtyard,  and  the  visitor  is 
allowed  to  go  through  the  whole  edifice 
and  to  inspect  the  furniture  and  the  domes- 
tic arrangements  in  every  department. 


MO  SCO  W  AND  .  M^'AI^  IK    [' ;  '  j^'i 

But  far  more  attractive  to  the  imagi- 
nation than  this  ancient  abode  of  the 
Romanoffs  is  the  house  where  Napoleon 
slept  the  night  before  he  entered  Mos- 
cow at  the  head  of  his  army,  an  event 
followed  by  the  disastrous  retreat  from 
Russia,  which  opened  the  path  to  Water- 
loo and  St.  Helena.  It  stands  on  an 
elevation  known  as  the  Sparrow  Hills, 
about  five  miles*  drive  from  the  Kremlin. 
A  railroad  also  takes  passengers  to  the 
place.  The  hills  are  high  enough  to  af- 
ford a  superb  view  of  the  city.  The 
house  occupied  by  Napoleon  is  small, 
but  the  vista  that  he  had,  with  the  line 
of  march  of  his  army  directly  beneath 
his  eye,  was  magnificent.  The  march 
was  across  the  broad  and  level  intervale 
of  the  little  river  Moskva,  with  the  Krem- 
lin as  its  objective  point.  And  so  the 
third  act  in  the  most  showy  tragedy  of 
the  nineteenth  century  was  completed ; 
and  who  knows  whether  or  no  there  will 

be  other  such  tragedies  in  the  twentieth? 
14 


Ib2r'?  'i^X^STFI^//  JOURNEYS, 

From  Moscow  to  Warsaw  is  about 
eight  hundred  and  twenty  miles  through 
an  agricultural  country,  with  villages 
built  to  lodge  the  agricultural  farm 
laborers,  and  with  forests  covering  more 
land  than  is  cultivated.  It  is  a  rather 
commonplace  region  in  itself,  but  the 
travelling  is  quite  delightful.  There  is 
no  hurry,  the  stops  are  frequent  enough, 
the  tea  is  always  good,  and  the  pervad- 
ing peace  of  the  landscape  is  most  rest- 
ful. There  is  no  line  to  mark  the  differ- 
ence between  the  country  on  the  two 
sides  of  the  frontier;  yet  there  is  a 
charm,  an  indescribable  something,  a 
gentle  poesy  that  seems  to  dwell  over 
the  Polish  farms  and  chateaux,  and  is 
somehow  wanting  on  the  Russian  side. 
This  charm  continues  as  the  journey 
ends  and  you  are  in  Warsaw. 

This  ancient  capital  of  Poland  I 
should  call  the  most  poetic  city  in  Eu- 
rope. Its  situation  is  exceedingly  beau- 
tiful.    There  are  neither  very  high  hills 


MOSCOW  AND    WARSAW.  103 

nor  very  deep  valleys,  but  the  low  land  is 
on  the  north  of  the  Vistula  and  the  high 
land  on  the  south  of  it,  and  in  fact  the 
diversification  everywhere  is  picturesque 
to  the  last  degree  and  keeps  the  imagina- 
tion busy  at  every  turn.  There  are  plen- 
ty of  interesting  buildings  in  Warsaw, 
both  ancient  and  modern.  To  one  that 
is  just  out  of  the  city  I  made  two  studi- 
ous visits,  and  this  was  the  old  chateau 
of  John  Sobieski,  built  by  that  famous 
warrior  after  his  campaigns  against  the 
Turks  were  done,  and  he  had  come  back 
to  Poland  loaded  with  spoils  and  with 
the  gratitude  of  Vienna  and  of  Austria, 
which  he  had  saved  from  being  added  to 
the  Turkish  dominions. 

The  Sobieski  house  now  belongs  to 
the  Countess  Potocka,  if  she  is  still  liv- 
ing; if  not,  I  suppose  it  has  gone  to  her 
son.  Count  Potocki,  a  graceful  and  hand- 
some young  fellow  of  genuine  Polish 
beauty,  who  is  thirty  odd  years  old,  and 
is  known  among  his  friends  as  the  richest 


I04  ^^  STERN  JO URNE  YS, 

man  in  Poland.  It  is  a  spacious  country 
house,  an  Italian  villa  in  form,  its  wings 
on  either  side  crowded  with  objects  of 
art,  with  old  armor,  with  pictures,  and 
with  historical  souvenirs  of  every  nature. 
A  portrait  of  the  original  Countess  Po- 
tocka,  a  Circassian  lady  who  came  to 
Poland  by  way  of  Turkey,  and  whose  ro- 
mantic tale  is  the  glory  of  many  novels, 
is  one  of  the  pictures,  showing  that  her 
loveliness  was  not  merely  an  effect  of 
features  and  complexion,  but  of  wit  and 
intelligence  as  well. 

In  driving  back  to  the  city  we  passed 
into  the  Lazienski  park,  and  went  through 
the  palace  built  by  King  Stanislas  Ponia- 
towski,  and  bought  by  Czar  Alexander  I, 
eighty  years  ago.  A  more  charming 
house,  or  one  more  beautifully  deco- 
rated, cannot  be  found.  The  park  which 
surrounds  it  is  very  admirable,  and  the 
whole  establishment  can  crow  loud  and 
high  over  the  general  ruck  of  royal  cha- 
teaux in  the  other  countries  of  Europe. 


MOSCOW  AND    WARSAW, 


105 


I  spent  an  afternoon  in  the  Jewish 
quarter  of  the  city,  and  came  away  full 
of  admiration  for  the  energy,  business  fac- 
ulty, and  apparent  prosperity  of  the  re- 
spected Semites.  Warsaw  contains  about 
five  hundred  thousand  people,  and  one 
third  of  them  are  Jews.  As  men  of  busi- 
ness, they  are  shrewd,  energetic,  judi- 
cious, and  successful ;  as  scholars,  they 
are  learned,  profound,  accurate,  and  in- 
defatigable ;  as  men  of  religion,  they  ad- 
here conscientiously  and  faithfully  to  the 
doctrine  of  their  fathers.  The  quarter 
of  the  city  which  they  occupy  is  certain- 
ly not  the  most  beautiful,  but  it  is  reason- 
ably clean  and  wonderfully  industrious. 
There  is  progress  in  them. 

But  it  is  time  to  turn  our  faces  toward 
the  West.  A  brief  railway  ride  to  Berlin 
and  Bremen  brings  us  to  the  steamer,  and 
after  a  few  days  on  the  steamer  we  are  at 
home  again.  Our  summer  journey  has 
lasted  a  little  less  than  three  months,  all 
without  a  single  mishap,  or  even  a  day 


Io6  ^A STERN  JO URNE  YS, 

of  stormy  weather.  It  has  shown  us 
some  of  the  most  interesting  things  in 
the  world ;  but  what  part  of  this  mun- 
dane sphere  is  better  than  Long  Island, 
with  the  waters  of  the  Sound  breaking 
gently  upon  its  beaches,  and  the  Stars 
and  Stripes  keeping  guard  over  all  ? 


VIII. 
HOW   TO    GET   TO  JERUSALEM, 

Every  Christian  and  every  philo- 
sophic student  of  history  must  desire  to 
see  Jerusalem.  It  was  formerly  very  dif- 
ficult and  even  dangerous  to  go  there. 
But  now  it  is  safe,  easy,  and  comparative- 
ly inexpensive. 

There  are  various  roads  for  the  trav- 
eller to  choose  from.  He  may  start  from 
Egypt  and  follow  the  route  through  the 
desert  of  Sinai ;  or  he  may  land  at  Beirut, 
in  Central  Syria,  pass  the  hills  of  Leba- 
non, and  proceed  southward  through  the 
country  of  Galilee ;  but  each  of  these 
routes  involves  a  long  journey  on  horse- 
back, with  a  caravan  and  tents  and  guards. 
The  simplest  and  shortest  way  is  through 
Jaffa,  or  Joppa,   as  it  was  called  in  St. 

Paul's  time.     This  is  the  seaport  in  the 

107 


1 08  J^A  STERN  JO  URNE  YS. 

Eastern  Mediterranean  that  is  nearest  to 
Jerusalem;  and  a  railway,  finished  in 
1893,  bears  the  traveller  directly  to  his 
destination.  From  Constantinople  steam- 
ers for  Jaffa  are  frequent,  and  so  they  are 
from  Alexandria  and  Port  Said,  the  near- 
est Egyptian  ports.  But  landing  at  Jaffa 
is  uncertain.  It  is  an  open  roadstead, 
not  a  sheltered  harbor ;  and  between  the 
anchoring  ground  of  ships  and  the  beach 
there  stretches  a  long  and  sharp-edged 
reef,  just  rising  to  the  surface  of  the 
water ;  and  on  a  windy  day  the  breakers 
falling  upon  it  are  shattered  into  foam. 
In  this  reef  there  is  a  narrow  passage, 
wide  enough  for  a  whaleboat;  and  once 
through,  there  is  safet3^  But  the  slight- 
est variation  from  the  true  line  hurls 
your  boat  upon  the  rocks  and  drowns  its 
passengers.  Just  before  we  were  there 
in  November  a  boat's  crew  had  been  de- 
stoyed ;  and  usually,  if  a  westerly  wind 
is  blowing,  steamers  will  not  attempt  to 
land,  but  carry  away  the  pilgrims  to  a 


HOW   TO   GET   TO  JERUSALEM,      109 

more  distant  port  and  an  uncertain  des- 
tination. But  with  the  increased  traffic 
of  Jaffa,  it  cannot,  we  suppose,  be  very- 
long  before  a  safe  harbor  is  built  there, 
and  the  debarkation  of  voyagers  made 
safe  and  comfortable. 

After  you  are  well  ashore  at  Jaffa, 
you  have  two  good  ways  of  reaching 
Jerusalem.  First  there  is  the  old  car- 
riage road,  which  has  existed  for  many- 
years,  and  a  very  good  road  it  is ;  and  then 
there  is  the  new  railroad.  The  carriage 
road  is  shorter  than  the  railroad,  being 
something  like  thirty-two  miles  long, 
while  the  railroad  is  some  fifty  miles ; 
but  it  takes  twice  as  much  time  to  get 
there  with  a  carriage  and  horses,  and  it 
is,  of  course,  much  more  costly.  The 
railroad  is  very  good  indeed,  substantially 
built  by  French  engineers  with  French 
capital,  though  the  locomotives  which  I 
noticed  bore  the  mark  of  a  Philadelphia 
firm.     For  some   twenty  miles   the   line 

passes  through  the   fertile  and  attractive 
15 


no  EA STERN  JO URNE  YS. 

plain  of  Sharon,  that  rich  and  lovely  an- 
cient region  whose  verdant  beauty  wars 
and  devastations  have  not  extinguished. 
Then  it  enters  the  mountains  and  follows 
the  lines  of  small  streams,  and  during  the 
remainder  of  the  distance  winds  about 
through  ravines,  especially  the  Wady 
Surar  and  the  Wady  Bittir.  The  ascent 
from  the  sea  to  Jerusalem  amounts  to 
two  thousand  four  hundred  and  eighty 
feet  in  all.  I  saw  no  indications  of  great 
difficulties  overcome  in  the  engineering. 
There  may  be  a  tunnel  or  two,  though  I 
do  not  remember  any  distinctly.  The 
trains  that  were  running  consisted  of  two 
second-class  carriages  and  one  first-class. 
These  carriages  are  divided  into  com- 
partments much  like  the  cars  of  the  Swiss 
and  Italian  railways.  The  first-class  seats 
are  not  cushioned,  but  are  just  like  our 
ordinary  cane-seated  chairs.  There  was 
one  daily  train  that  made  the  round  trip 
between  Jaffa  and  Jerusalem,  and  the 
first-class  fare  was  ten  francs.    The  time 


HOW   TO   GET   TO  JERUSALEM,     m 

of  leaving  Jerusalem  was  9  A.  M.,  and  the 
returning  train  started  from  Jaffa  at  2  P.  M. 
The  running  time  is  about  three  hours 
and  a  half.  The  language  used  upon  the 
line  by  guards  and  station  men  is  French. 
I  have  been  told  by  my  friend,  Dr.  Pe- 
reira  Mendes,  that  there  is  a  notion 
among  Oriental  Jews  that  the  opening  of 
a  railway  to  Jerusalem  must  precede  the 
coming  of  the  Messiah.  This  he  heard 
nearly  twenty  years  ago  when  minister 
of  a  congregation  almost  wholly  com- 
posed of  Hebrews  from  northern  Africa, 
Turkey,  Greece,  Asia  Minor,  and  the  far- 
ther East.  The  foundation  for  the  opin- 
ion appears  to  be  the  last  chapter  of  the 
prophecies  of  Isaiah,  in  an  eloquent  pre- 
diction of  the  return  of  the  Hebrew  ex- 
iles, where  we  read :  "  They  shall  bring 
all  your  brethren  out  of  all  the  nations, 
for  an  offering  unto  the  Lord,  upon  horses, 
and  in  chariots,  and  in  litters,  and  upon 
mules,  and  upon  swift  beasts  to  my  holy 
mountain    Jerusalem,   saith    the    Lord." 


112  EA  STERN  JO  URNE  YS. 

The  Hebrew  word  which  is  translated 
"  swift  beasts  "  in  the  English  version  is 
T\T\T\'2  (kirkaroth),  and  occurs  only  this 
once  in  all  the  Bible.  The  roots  of  the 
word  are  found  in  2  Samuel,  vi,  14,  where 
it  is  applied  to  the  swaying-  dance  of 
David,  and  is  the  common  Hebrew  word 
for  furnace.  Hence  the  derived  meaning, 
as  Dr.  Mendes  tells  me,  "  a  swaying  fur- 
nace.** For  the  English  rendering  there 
is  no  justification  whatever  in  the  sense 
of  the  Hebrew  word  in  the  text.  Some 
propose  to  translate  it  "■  dromedaries  '* ; 
but  the  same  prophet  only  a  few  chapters 
before  (Ix,  6),  uses  a  totally  different 
word,  the  accepted  equivalent  of  which 
is  "  dromedary.**  It  is  certainly  neither 
camels  nor  asses,  for  there  are  well-known 
Hebrew  words  regularly  used  for  these. 
When  the  English  translation  was  made 
in  King  James*s  time  there  was  no  word 
to  express  the  Hebrew  in  this  passage ; 
but  what  more  accurate  epithet  could  be 
applied  to  a  railway  locomotive  than  to 


HOW   TO   GET   TO  JERUSALEM,      113 

call  it  a  swaying  furnace?  And  what 
more  accurate  term  could  the  prophet 
use  to  describe  what  he  had  seen  in  his 
vision  of  the  return  of  the  Hebrews  by 
all  kinds  of  conveyances,  among  them 
one  which  he  had  never  beheld  in  all  his 
experience,  but  which  **  swayed "  and 
carried  fire  ?  What  a  picturesque  word 
to  describe  a  train  or  locomotive  in  rapid 
motion ! 

In  passing  through  the  mountains  be- 
tween the  plain  of  Sharon  and  Jerusalem 
the  scenery  is  fine  and  interesting,  though 
nowhere  very  extraordinary.  In  No- 
vember the  mountains  were  generally 
red  and  bare,  though  wherever  there  was 
moisture  the  grass  was  green,  and  the 
olive  trees  still  bore  their  foliage.  There 
are  frequent  terraces  also  along  the  sides 
of  the  hills,  and  vineyards  are  planted 
there.  In  a  good  season  there  ought  to 
be  a  good  crop  of  wine  in  the  country. 
But  it  is  not  a  fertile  country  by  any 
means,  any  more  than  it  was  in  the  days 


114  -^^  STERJSr  JO  URNE  YS, 

when  Abram  was  obliged  by  bad  crops 
and  short  supplies  to  go  down  to  Egypt 
to  escape  starving. 

The  thoughts  and  emotions  which 
naturally  belong  to  one's  arrival  at  a  spot 
which  has  played  in  the  history  of  man- 
kind a  part  so  tremendous,  are  not  much 
promoted  when  we  reach  the  Jerusalem 
Railway  terminus  and  take  in  the  spec- 
tacle which  opens  upon  our  eyes.  As  we 
gaze  around,  nothing  that  we  see  pro- 
duces the  effect  either  of  antiquity  or  of 
sacredness.  The  station  buildings  are 
new,  and  we  see  new  buildings,  both  fin- 
ished and  unfinished,  with  various  evi- 
dences of  modern  activity  and  progress, 
upon  almost  every  height  that  rises  in  the 
range  of  vision.  All  is  noise,  bustle,  and 
confusion;  and  the  traveller  may  even 
be  stirred  with  fear  for  his  personal  safe- 
ty in  the  disputes  of  cab  drivers  and  hotel 
agents  for  the  possession  of  his  person 
and  luggage. 

The  terminus  is  about  a  mile  from  the 


HOIV   TO   GET   TO  JERUSALEM,      nj 

principal  western  gate,  known  as  the  Jaffa 
gate,  which  leads  through  the  walls  into 
the  ancient  city.  I  have  seen  it  alleged 
in  some  newspaper  that  the  terminus  is 
in  the  valley  of  Hinnom,  but  it  is  a  mis- 
take. The  valley  of  Hinnom  bounds 
the  western  and  southern  lines  of  the  city 
wall;  but  between  it  and  the  railway 
there  is  a  ridge  of  land ;  and  as  we  cross 
it  in  driving  toward  the  town,  we  look 
down  into  that  part  of  the  valley  where 
of  old  the  pious  King  Josiah  '*  defiled 
Tophet,  which  is  in  the  valley  of  the  chil- 
dren of  Hinnom,  that  no  man  might  make 
his  son  or  his  daughter  to  pass  through 
the  fire  to  Moloch ;  *'  and  where  long 
afterward,  as  Jeremiah  records,  the  heav- 
en-defying children  of  Judah  **  built  the 
high  places  of  Baal,  which  are  in  the  val- 
ley of  the  son  of  Hinnom,  to  cause  their 
sons  and  their  daughters  to  pass  through 
the  fire  unto  Moloch." 

As  we  leave  this  ill-famed  ravine  and 
turn  toward  the  east,  the  lofty  wall  of 


1 1 6  EA  STERN  JO  URNE  YS, 

Jerusalem  and  the  massive  towers  of  the 
citadel  are  immediately  before  us.  We 
^are  on  the  outer  slope  of  Mount  Zion,  the 
sanctuary  and  the  abode  of  David !  The 
ponderous  blocks  which  form  the  lower 
strata  of  the  wall  might  have  been  shaped 
and  put  in  place  by  some  prehistoric  race 
of  giants.  More  than  almost  anything 
else  to  be  found  around  Jerusalem,  or 
within,  this  wall  bears  an  appearance  of 
great  antiquity.  We  can  easily  believe 
that  its  foundations  were  laid  in  the  time 
of  David,  though  its  upper  portions  are 
unquestionably  modern.  The  books  vary. 
One  says  it  was  the  work  of  Sultan  Sulei- 
man in  the  sixteenth  century ;  another 
that  it  was  erected  much  earlier  ;  and  my 
guide,  a  most  intelligent  and  well-in- 
formed Jew  of  Hungarian  origin,  told  me 
it  was  built  by  the  Crusaders  after  they 
had  got  possession,  for  the  purpose  of 
protecting  the  inhabitants  against  the  ras- 
cally Arabs,  who  would  ride  up  in  small 
parties,  rob  some  rich  family,  and  be  off 


HOW   TO   GET   TO  JERUSALEM,      ny 

with  their  plunder  before  anything  could 
be  done  to  stop  them.  But,  however  this 
may  be,  the  wall,  from  sixteen  to  twenty 
feet  in  height,  fully  encloses  the  town; 
and,  although  it  could  soon  be  knocked 
to  pieces  by  a  ten-pounder  cannon,  it 
stands  in  good  order,  solid  enough  for  all 
peaceful  purposes,  and  perfectly  separates 
the  city  from  the  country  about  it. 

While  you  are  gazing  at  the  old  wall, 
your  carriage  moves  along,  and  present- 
ly you  find  yourself  stepping  out  at  the 
door  of  your  hotel,  and  it  is  on  Mount 
Zion  ! 

Beautiful  in  elevation,  the  joy  of  the  whole  earth, 

Is  Mount  Zion,  on  the  sides  of  the  north, 

The  city  of  the  great  King  ! 

Walk  about  Zion,  and  go  round  about  her ; 

Tell  the  towers  thereof. 

Mark  well  her  bulwarks, 

Consider  her  palaces : 

That  ye  may  tell  it  to  the  generation  following. 

For  this  God  is  our  God  forever  and  ever  ; 

He  will  be  our  guide  even  unto  death ! 


i6 


IX. 

THE  HOLY  CITY, 

As  we  get  a  complete  view  of  Jeru- 
salem and  begin  to  understand  it,  the 
first  impression  is  surprise  at  its  evident 
prosperity,  due,  as  we  presently  under- 
stand, to  the  sums  of  money  spent  by  the 
great  and  increasing  mass  of  pilgrims  who 
habitually  resort  there ;  and  then  we  are 
even  more  surprised  at  the  smallness  of 
the  place.  It  can  never  have  been  what 
would  be  called  a  large  town;  and  Dr. 
W.  M.  Thomson,  the  author  of  "The 
Land  and  the  Book,*'  who  examined  the 
question  very  carefully  some  fifteen  years 
ago,  is  convinced  that  in  the  time  of  its 
greatest  glory  it  was  never  much  larger 
than  it  is  now.  The  actual  present 
length  of  the  wall  which  encloses  the 
city,  according  to  Dr.  Thomson,  is  about 

ii8 


THE  HOLY  CITY,  ng 

two  miles  and  a  half,  measuring  the 
whole  of  the  four  sides ;  and  the  greatest 
length  which  he  attributes  to  it  in  ancient 
times  is  a  mile  and  a  half  from  north  to 
south,  with  an  average  breadth  of  half  a 
mile  from  west  to  east,  making  the  en- 
closed area  something  like  two  hundred 
and  ten  or  two  hundred  and  fifteen  acres. 
Josephus  also  gives  the  total  measure- 
ment of  the  walls  before  their  destruction 
by  Titus  at  thirty-three  furlongs,  or  a 
little  over  four  miles.  Roughly  speaking, 
then,  Jerusalem  in  its  highest  splendor 
was  not  larger  than  the  area  of  the  Cen- 
tral Park  below  the  reservoir.  More- 
over, this  limited  space  has  always  been 
diminished  by  the  extent  of  the  area  lev- 
elled and  walled,  set  apart  of  old  for  the 
Temple,  and  still  held  sacred  by  the 
Turkish  authorities  against  the  erection 
of  ordinary  buildings.  This  area  contains, 
I  should  suppose,  from  thirty  to  thirty-five 
acres.  It  is  the  one  conspicuous  green 
spot  in  Jerusalem.     It  is  covered   with 


1 20  ^^  STERN  JO URNE  YS, 

grass  and  adorned  with  trees ;  and  the 
only  buildings  on  it  are  the  glorious  and 
beautiful  Mosque  of  Omar,  the  Mosque 
of  Aksa,  and  one  or  two  other  dependent 
structures. 

The  present  population  of  Jerusalem 
is  not  far  from  forty  thousand,  and  more 
than  half  are  Jews.  They  live  in  a  sepa- 
rate quarter  of  their  own,  as  do  also 
the  various  divisions  of  Christians,  such 
as  the  Armenians,  the  Greeks,  and  the 
Protestants.  All  these  quarters  are 
densely  built,  wath  narrow  and  irregular 
lanes  for  streets,  but  the  prevailing  pros- 
perity does  not  seem  to  reach  the  abodes 
of  the  Hebrews.  The  indications  are  all 
of  extreme  poverty.  A  synagogue  was 
pointed  out  bearing  an  inscription  show- 
ing that  it  was  the  gift  of  a  Paris  Roth- 
schild ;  but  its  mean  appearance  and 
unattractive  surroundings  bore  no  sug- 
gestion of  critical  refinement  in  the  con- 
gregation. The  articles  of  food  set  out 
for   sale   in  the  petty   little   shops  were 


THE  HOLY  CITY,  121 

often  squalid  and  repulsive.  We  came 
so  often  upon  spoiled  salt  fish  among  the 
stores  exposed  by  the  venders,  that  we 
concluded  it  must  form  a  regular  element 
of  diet  in  the  quarter.  There  was  no 
visible  sign  of  industry  by  which  the 
people  might  earn  their  living  ;  and  no 
one  need  be  surprised  to  learn  that  in 
various  parts  of  the  world  the  well-to-do 
and  charitable  Jews  are  regularly  called 
upon  to  contribute  to  the  support  of  their 
pauper  brethren  in  Jerusalem. 

We  hate  to  say  a  word  that  may  dis- 
courage any  one's  search  after  knowledge ; 
but  we  must  advise  our  readers  who  are 
preparing  to  see  Jerusalem  not  to  read 
too  many  books  of  modern  exploration 
and  criticism,  for  fear  of  losing  all  faith  in 
the  holy  places  where  the  remembrance 
of  the  founder  of  the  Christian  reli- 
gion is  most  religiously  preserved.  This 
modern  criticism,  conducted  in  consid- 
erable part  by  men  as  pious  as  they 
are  learned,  has  put  into  dispute  almost 


122  EASTERN  JOURNE  YS, 

every  spot  of  importance  in  the  history  of 
the  sacred  city.  Excepting  the  site  of  the 
Temple  and  the  Mount  of  Olives,  I  don't 
think  there  is  a  single  locality  which  re- 
mains free  from  question  or  denial.  The 
place  of  the  crucifixion  and  burial  of 
Christ,  as  the  great  body  of  Christians 
have  believed  for  fifteen  hundred  years, 
is  marked  by  the  Church  of  the  Holy 
Sepulchre;  but,  apart  from  the  Roman 
Catholics,  the  orthodox  Greeks,  and  the 
Armenians,  the  majority  of  Christians 
would  seem  to  have  fixed  their  faith 
upon  a  quite  different  quarter  outside  of 
the  present  city  wall.  It  is  true  that  few 
scholars  express  themselves  upon  this 
subject  with  the  vehemence  employed  by 
the  late  Mr.  Laurence  Oliphant.  He 
avers  that  "it  has  now  been  proved  to 
a  demonstration  that  wherever  the  tomb 
in  which  Christ  was  laid  after  his  crucifix- 
ion may  have  been,  it  could  not  have  been 
in  the  cave  over  which  the  gorgeous 
edifice  called  the  Church  of  the   Holy 


THE  HOLY  CITY.  123 

Sepulchre  now  stands."  The  same  writer 
declares  that  "  the  Jerusalem  of  the  pres- 
ent day,  the  holy  city  of  the  world  par 
excellence^  contains  within  its  walls  more 
sacred  shams  and  impostures  than  any 
other  city  in  the  world/* 

It  is  evident  that  much  study  in  this 
direction  cannot  lead  to  that  reverential 
and  prayerful  spirit  in  which  any  person 
of  Christian  education  must  naturally  ap- 
proach the  place  where  he  believes  the 
Redeemer  of  the  world  was  laid  after  his 
execution  ;  and  we  turn  with  pleasure 
from  such  skepticism  to  the  opposing 
utterance  of  such  an  authority  as  Mr. 
William  C.  Prime.  He  is  a  Protestant, 
understands  the  question  thoroughly,  and 
is  familiar  with  the  views  of  all  the  schol- 
ars who  have  written  upon  the  subject : 
yet  he  believes  in  the  genuineness  of  the 
Holy  Sepulchre.  "  Critical  scholars  and 
learned  men  employed  in  investigating  the 
topography  of  the  Holy  Land,"  writes 
Mr.  Prime,  **  had  no  doubt  of  its  authen- 


1 24  EA  STERN-  JO  URNE  YS. 

ticity  in  the  beginning  of  the  fourth  cen- 
tury ;  no  one,  so  far  as  we  know,  thought 
in  that  age  of  disputing  the  fact,  but  all 
men  acknowledged  its  truth ;  it  is  not 
doubted  by  any  one  that  this  is  the 
locality  in  which  those  learned  men 
placed  their  confidence,  it  having  been 
well  preserved  from  that  time  to  this/* 

But,  whatever  the  attitude  of  the  mind 
toward  these  questions,  it  is  impossible 
without  deep  emotion  to  observe  the 
throngs  of  pilgrims  from  east  or  west 
that  daily  visit  the  Church  of  the  Holy 
Sepulchre.  We  were  there  one  morning 
when  a  company  of  Russians,  several  hun- 
dred in  number,  as  we  were  told,  came  to 
make  their  devotions  at  the  shrine.  They 
were  humble  people,  men,  women,  and 
youths  ;  but  the  intensity  and  sincerity  of 
their  feeling,  as  they  prostrated  them- 
selves to  kiss  the  stone  pavement  in  front 
of  the  sepulchre,  no  language  could  exag- 
gerate. The  canker  of  doubt  and  the  in- 
fection of  irreverence  had  never  touched 


THE  HOLY  CITY.  125 

their  honest  and  faithful  souls.  How 
much  more  enviable  they  appeared  there 
in  their  devout  prostration  than  the  skep- 
tic who  contemns  and  the  scoffer  who 
jeers  at  their  simple,  unquestioning  be- 
lief! 

The  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre 
was  first  built  by  the  Empress  Helena, 
the  mother  of  Constantine  the  Great,  in 
the  first  half  of  the  fourth  century.  Two 
hundred  years  later  it  was  burned  by  the 
Persians,  but  was  soon  built  up  again.  In 
the  tenth  century  it  was  twice  badly  dam- 
aged by  fire,  and  in  the  beginning  of  the 
eleventh  century  it  was  injured  and  dese- 
crated by  the  Mohammedans.  Finally 
in  the  twelfth  century  the  Crusaders  re- 
stored it;  and,  although  it  has  been  re- 
peatedly injured  by  hostile  attacks  and 
by  accidental  conflagrations,  much  of 
the  original  features  is  still  preserved. 
Around  it  and  opening  into  it  the  Catho- 
lics, the  orthodox  Greeks,  the  Armenians, 
and  the  Copts  have  chapels  of  their  own ; 
17 


1 26  EA  STERN  JO  URNE  YS. 

and  of  these  that  of  the  Greeks  is  by  far 
the  most  ornate  and  magnificent.  To  its 
own  chapel  each  one  of  these  parties  has, 
of  course,  an  exclusive  right ;  but  the  use 
of  the  central  church  for  religious  serv- 
ices is  allotted  to  each  in  its  order,  and 
for  a  certain  time  of  the  day ;  and  a 
guard  of  Turkish  soldiers  is  constantly 
present  within  the  outer  door  of  the 
church  to  enforce  this  order  and  to  keep 
the  difierent  kinds  of  Christians  from  dis- 
turbing the  public  peace  by  contentions 
for  unregulated  possession  of  the  church. 
The  Chapel  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  is 
a  small  structure  of  polished  stone  in  the 
rotunda  of  the  church,  under  the  high 
vault  of  its  roof.  Fifteen  lamps  are  kept 
burning  in  this  chapel :  five  belonging  to 
the  Greeks,  five  to  the  Catholics,  four  to 
the  Armenians,  and  one  to  the  Copts. 
The  sarcophagus  in  which  the  Lord  is 
believed  to  have  rested,  is  fitted  with  a 
cover  of  polished  stone,  porphyry,  I 
think,  and  this  covering  is  believed  by 


THE  HOLY  CITY, 


127 


most  visitors  to  be  the  sepulchre  itself. 
It  is  constantly  worn  away  by  the  kisses 
of  the  faithful,  and  has  to  be  replaced 
every  few  years.  The  same  is  the  case 
with  the  manger  at  Bethlehem,  where,  as 
the  Gospel  tells  us,  Christ  was  laid  as  an 
infant ;  and  that,  too,  lasts  but  a  little 
time,  so  fervent  and  so  constant  are  the 
kisses  which  pious  believers  hasten  to 
bestow  upon  it. 

Near  the  chapel  of  the  sepulchre,  and 
within  the  enclosure  of  the  church,  the 
visitor  is  also  permitted  to  examine  the 
place  where  Christ  was  nailed  to  the 
cross,  and  the  socket  in  the  rock  where 
the  cross  was  erected.  Close  by  in  an- 
other chapel  is  the  place  where  the  vest- 
ments of  Christ  were  divided ;  another 
chapel  is  said  to  stand  over  the  spot 
where  the  crown  of  thorns  was  put  upon 
Him ;  and  in  another  the  impress  of  His 
feet  is  shown  in  the  stone.  The  skeptic 
will  not  admit  that  these  things  are  true, 
or  that  there  is  any  sanctity  in  the  places 


128  E^ STERN  JO URNE  YS. 

that  inspire  the  believer  with  awe  and 
wonder.  But  for  the  pious  pilgrim,  what 
subjects  of  religious  meditation  and  holy 
ecstasy  are  offered  in  such  relics  and  such 
traces  of  the  Saviour's  very  footsteps ! 
No  wonder  that  the  whole  Christian 
world  is  drawn  to  Jerusalem  by  tens  of 
thousands. 

The  criticism  which  denies  the  genu- 
ineness of  all  these  remains  and  relics  in 
and  around  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Sep- 
ulchre rests  upon  the  argument  that  this 
part  of  Jerusalem  was  included  within  the 
walls  of  the  city  at  the  time  of  the  cruci- 
fixion, and  that,  accordingly,  Christ  could 
not  have  been  put  to  death  there,  since  it 
is  certain  that  the  place  of  execution  was 
without  the  wall.  The  same  argument 
would  overthrow  the  belief,  which  has 
also  prevailed  for  centuries,  that  it  was 
through  the  street  known  as  the  Via  Do- 
lorosa that  the  Divine  Victim  was  led 
from  the  tribunal  of  Pilate  to  the  place 
of  death.     This  street  is  perhaps  half  a 


THE  HOLY  CITY,  129 

mile  long,  and  it  is  everywhere  in  close 
proximity  to  the  present  outer  wall. 
Fourteen  stations  marked  with  tablets 
appear  to  show  the  path  followed  from 
the  place  of  condemnation  to  the  place 
of  execution  ;  and  of  these,  seven  or  eight 
are  in  the  Via  Dolorosa.  At  one  of  them 
the  cross  was  laid  upon  the  shoulders  of 
Jesus ;  another  is  at  the  spot  where  he  is 
said  to  have  fallen  under  that  burden  ;  at 
another  he  met  his  mother;  at  another 
Simon  of  Cyrene  took  the  cross  from 
him  ;  at  another  he  paused  to  speak  to 
the  women  who  accompanied  the  pro- 
cession ;  and  at  another  it  is  said  that  he 
fell  again.  The  last  five  stations  are  in 
the  church  and  the  various  chapels. 

But,  if  it  be  true,  as  the  so-called 
higher  critics  now  maintain,  that  the 
crucifixion  took  place,  not  on  the  site 
now  marked  by  the  Holy  Sepulchre,  but 
on  a  hill  at  a  short  distance  outside  of 
the  Damascus  Gate,  it  must  follow  that 
the  Via  Dolorosa  and  its  stations  cannot 


1 30  EASTERN  JO URNE  YS, 

have  been  the  line  of  march  which  was 
followed  on  that  tremendous  day.  We 
shall  not  attempt  to  consider  this  con- 
troversy at  any  length,  much  less  to  ex- 
press a  decision  respecting  it.  It  is 
enough  for  our  purpose  to  say  that  for 
fifteen  hundred  years  the  Christian 
Church  almost  unanimously  adhered  to 
this  belief,  and  that  to  reject  it  would 
be  to  change  Jerusalem  from  a  home 
and  centre  of  unquestioning  faith  into  a 
theatre  of  disputation  and  uncertainty. 

Turning  from  the  Via  Dolorosa  and 
entering  into  a  street  broad  enough  for  a 
carriage,  which  leads  across  the  city 
toward  the  south,  we  come  to  a  high- 
vaulted  passage  two  or  three  hundred 
feet  long,  with  shops  on  each  side  of  it, 
through  which  we  proceed  to  the  stairs 
that  ascend  to  the  ancient  platform  of  the 
Temple.  It  was  out  of  this  entrance,  as 
the  tradition  tells  us,  that  "  He  cast  out 
all  them  that  sold  and  bought  in  the 
Temple,  and  overthrew  the  tables  of  the 


THE  HOLY  CITY, 


131 


money  changers  and  the  seats  of  them 
that  sold  doves ;  and  he  saith  unto  them. 
'  It  is  written,  my  house  shall  be  called  a 
house  of  prayer,  but  ye  make  it  a  den  of 
robbers/  " 

A  few  steps  and  we  mount  to  the 
open  place  where  the  Temple  formerly 
stood.  It  is  perhaps  ten  feet  higher  than 
the  level  of  the  city  on  the  west ;  and  on 
the  east  a  substantial  wall  separates  it 
from  the  Valley  of  Kedron,  beyond  which 
we  behold  the  trees  of  Gethsemane  and 
the  Mount  of  Olives.  On  the  south  a 
much  more  massive  wall,  which  com- 
pletes the  quadrangle  toward  the  Valley 
of  Jehoshaphat  and  Hinnom,  is  undoubt- 
edly a  remnant  of  the  foundations  which 
sustained  the  Temple  of  Herod;  and  a 
considerable  portion  of  it  may  even  date 
from  the  Temple  of  Solomon. 

As  we  have  already  said,  the  princi- 
pal structure  which  stands  upon  this  his- 
toric plateau,  is  the  Mosque  of  Omar, 
named  after  the  first  Moslem  conqueror 


132  EA  STERN  JO  URNE  YS. 

of  Jerusalem,  although  it  is  far  from  cer- 
tain that  he  was  concerned  in  building  it. 
But,  at  any  rate,  it  is  one  of  the  most  sa- 
cred places  known  to  the  Mohammedan 
religion.  It  is  second  in  sanctity  only  to 
the  Mosque  of  the  Kaaba  in  Mecca  itself. 
More  than  this,  it  is  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  among  religious  edifices,  not 
from  its  magnitude  or  from  any  peculiar 
genius  in  its  construction,  but  from  the 
extraordinary  charm  of  its  decoration 
within  and  without.  It  is  in  the  shape  of 
an  octagon,  with  each  side  measuring 
sixty-six  feet  long.  The  outer  walls  are 
divided  by  a  moulding  or  cornice  which 
separates  them  into  a  basement  sixteen 
feet  high  covered  with  marble,  and  an 
upper  story  twenty  feet  high,  covered 
entirely  with  Persian  tiles  of  many 
colors,  most  delicate  patterns,  and  splen- 
did lustre,  producing  altogether  an  effect 
of  surprising  fascination.  Nothing  could 
be  compared  to  it,  except  perhaps  a  gi- 
gantic kaleidoscope  displaying  an  endless 


THE  HOLY  CITY, 


133 


succession  of  gorgeous  gems  and  daz- 
zling brilliancy.  When  you  stand  near 
enough  to  distinguish  the  tints  and  the 
patterns  of  the  tiles,  you  are  absorbed  in 
a  delight  such  as  you  never  felt  else- 
where ;  and  if  you  stand  too  far  off  to  see 
so  minutely,  the  effect  is  that  of  an  in- 
finitely soft  and  ever-varying  rainbow. 

Yet  there  is  no  uniformity  in  the  pat- 
terns or  colors  of  the  tiles,  though  the 
whole  of  each  panel  is  covered  with  the 
same  color  and  the  same  pattern.  The 
tiles  themselves  are  in  the  very  highest 
style  of  Persian  art,  made,  I  should  sup- 
pose, not  later  than  the  thirteenth  or 
fourteenth  century,  when  this  branch  of 
keramics  was  carried  to  a  perfection  and 
a  splendor  in  Persia  that  have  not  been 
attained  elsewhere.  Accordingly,  this 
part  of  the  mosque  must  have  been  deco- 
rated some  eight  or  nine  hundred  years 
after  the  structure  of  the  building  had 
been   completed,  if  indeed  we   may  say 

that  it  is  completed  yet.     When  we  were 

13 


1 34  £A  STERN  JO  URNE  YS, 

there  we  saw  men  at  work  putting  up 
over  the  tiles  which  adorn  the  outer  wall 
a  frieze  of  other  tiles,  likewise  Persian, 
each  of  them  two  feet  or  thereabouts  in 
height,  of  an  indigo-blue  lustre,  and  bear- 
ing raised  white  Arabic  letters,  also  about 
two  feet  high,  and  so  plain  that  they 
could  be  read  easily  from  some  distance 
below,  setting  forth  verses  from  the  Ko- 
ran adoring  and  praising  the  Most  High. 
This  frieze  was  not  yet  finished  as  much 
as  half  way  around  the  octagon  at  the 
time  when  we  inspected  it,  and  it  looked 
as  if  it  formed  a  part  of  the  original  de- 
sign, which  they  just  now  had  the  means 
to  execute.  When  it  is  done  it  will  add 
very  greatly  to  the  dignity  and  solemnity 
of  the  mosque. 

The  interior  of  this  famous  house  of 
worship  bore  to  the  full  that  appearance 
of  high  prosperity  which  we  had  noticed 
elsewhere  in  Jerusalem.  The  mosaics 
which  beautify  the  roof  seemed  almost 
as  brilliant  as  those  of  St.  Mark's  itself, 


THE  HOLY  CITY.  135 

though  far  less  elaborate.  The  cleanness 
of  the  house  was  perfect,  and  every  inch 
of  the  floor  was  carpeted  with  rugs  of 
exquisite  taste  and  richness.  When  the 
priests  came  forward  to  welcome  us  with- 
in the  doors  we  could  tell  them  without 
exaggeration  that  we  did  not  know,  even 
in  Christendom,  another  temple  of  religion 
more  faultless  in  itself,  more  worthily- 
cared  for,  or  more  beautifully  maintained. 
In  the  centre  of  the  mosque  stands 
the  Holy  Rock,  the  one  thing  in  Jerusa- 
lem about  whose  antiquity  and  identity 
controversy  seems  almost  impossible. 
The  traditions  attached  to  it  are  innu- 
merable. Abraham  and  Melchizedek  sacri- 
ficed burnt  offerings  upon  it ;  it  was  here 
that  Abraham  was  prevented  by  the  angel 
from  killing  his  son  Isaac ;  here  David 
established  the  ark  of  the  covenant;  here 
above  the  rock  was  raised  the  altar  of 
burnt  offering  in  the  Temple  of  Solomon  ; 
here,  according  to  the  Moslem  tradition, 
was   written  the   unspeakable    name    of 


1 36  EA  STERN  JO  URNE  YS. 

God,  which  Jesus  alone  was  able  to  read ; 
hence  Mohammed  ascended  to  heaven; 
at  the  Last  Day  the  Kaaba  from  Mecca 
will  be  brought  here,  and  then  the  final 
trump  will  sound,  and  the  dead  will  be 
brought  to  judgment.  The  rock  is  of 
irregular  natural  form.  It  is  more  than 
fifty  feet  long  and  forty  feet  wide,  and 
channels  are  shown  in  it  through  which 
the  blood  of  the  sacrifices  is  said  to  have 
flowed  away.  How  David  became  pos- 
sessor of  the  place  is  recorded  in  the 
Second  Book  of  Samuel. 

"  And  God  came  back  that  day  to 
David  and  said :  *  Go  up  and  rear  an  al- 
tar unto  the  Lord  in  the  threshing  floor 
of  Araunah,  the  Jebusite.*  And  David, 
according  to  the  saying  of  God,  went  up 
as  the  Lord  commanded.  And  Araunah 
looked  and  saw  the  King  and  his  serv- 
ants coming  toward  him  ;  and  Araunah 
went  out  and  bowed  himself  before  the 
King  on  his  face  upon  the  ground.  And 
Araunah  said :  '  Wherefore  is  my  Lord, 


THE  HOLY  CITY,  137 

the  King,  come  to  his  servant?*  And 
David  said  :  '  To  buy  the  threshing  floor 
of  thee,  to  build  an  altar  unto  the  Lord 
that  the  plague  may  be  stayed  from  the 
people.*  And  Araunah  said  unto  Da- 
vid :  *  Let  my  Lord,  the  King,  take  and 
offer  up  what  seemeth  good  unto  him. 
Behold  the  oxen  for  the  burnt  offering, 
and  the  threshing  instruments  and  the 
furniture  of  the  oxen  for  the  wood ;  and 
all  these,  O  King,  doth  Araunah  give 
unto  the  king.*  And  Araunah  said  unto 
the  King,  *  The  Lord,  thy  God,  accept 
thee.*  And  the  King  said  unto  Araunah : 
*  Nay,  but  I  will  verily  buy  it  of  thee  at  a 
price.  Neither  will  I  offer  burnt  offer- 
ings unto  the  Lord  my  God  which  cost 
me  nothing.*  So  David  bought  the 
threshing  plough  and  the  oxen  for  fifty 
shekels  of  silver.  And  David  built  there 
an  altar  unto  the  Lord  and  offered  burnt 
offerings  and  peace  offerings.  So  the 
Lord  was  entreated  for  the  land,  and  the 
plague  was  stayed  from  Israel.** 


X. 

BETHLEHEM  AND  BETHANY. 

Bethlehem,  revered  of  all  Christians 
as  the  birthplace  of  the  Saviour,  lies  six 
miles  west  of  the  citadel  of  Jerusalem  ; 
and  Bethany,  where  He  loved  to  with- 
draw from  the  crowd,  and  find  rest  in 
the  society  of  near  friends  and  disciples, 
lies  about  two  miles  to  the  east.  The 
most  hasty  stay  in  the  Holy  City  must 
include  a  visit  to  each  of  these  places. 

The  road  to  Bethlehem  is  smooth 
and  pleasant,  and  objects  of  extraordi- 
nary association  approach  the  mind  at 
every  turn.  Toward  the  southwest  we 
behold  the  sunny  fields  which  formed 
the  scene  of  the  lovely  idyl  of  Ruth 
and  Boaz,  the  most  charming  story  of 
Hebrew  literature.  In  the  same  direc- 
tion is  the  Cave  of  AduUam,  where 
138 


BETHLEHEM  AND  BETHANY,       139 

David,  fighting  man  and  captain  but 
not  yet  King,  had  a  refuge  while  the 
Philistines  held  his  native  town ;  and 
we  know  that  toward  the  northwest, 
though  invisible  to  us  as  yet,  lies  the 
valley  where  tradition  tells  us  is  the 
very  field  in  which  the  shepherds  were 
*'  keeping  watch  by  night  over  their 
flock.  And  an  angel  of  the  Lord  stood 
by  them,  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord 
shone  round  about  them ;  and  they 
were  sore  afraid.  And  the  angel  said 
unto  them  :  *  Be  not  afraid  ;  for  behold  I 
bring  you  good  tidings  of  great  joy, 
which  shall  be  to  all  the  people ;  for 
behold,  there  is  born  to  you  this  day 
in  the  city  of  David  a  Saviour  which 
is  Christ  the  Lord.*  '* 

As  we  drive  quietly  along,  the  road 
passes  almost  within  touching  distance 
of  "  Rachel's  sepulchre  in  the  border 
of  Benjamin  at  Zelzah,"  and  we  stop 
to  gaze  at  the  monument  where  the 
mother  of   Israel  was  laid   to  rest  four 


I40  EASTERN  JO URNE  YS, 

thousand  years  ago.  It  is  no  longer  in 
decay,  having  been  repaired  and  made 
clean  and  seemly  through  the  liberality 
of  the  late  Moses  Montefiore,  of  London. 
Christians,  Jews,  and  Mohammedans  all 
agree  in  venerating  the  mediaeval  struc- 
ture, which  stands  here  in  the  place  of  the 
pillar  or  pyramid  of  twelve  rude  stones 
corresponding  to  the  twelve  tribes  of 
Israel,  that  marked  the  spot  in  the  most 
ancient  times.  Wilson  says  that  no  doubt 
has  ever  been  raised  respecting  this 
grave;  yet  as  we  open  our  Baedeker 
beside  it,  we  read  that  *'upon  many 
grounds  it  is  impossible "  that  Rachel 
can  have  been  buried  here ! 

Bethlehem  is  a  very  picturesque  hill 
town.  Thirty  years  ago  the  most  Intel- 
ligent  visitors  estimated  its  population  at 
three  thousand,  but  now  our  careful 
Baedeker  puts  it  down  at  eight  thousand, 
with  scarcely  any  Mohammedans  among 
them.  It  has  shared  the  activity  and  the 
progress  which  have  visited  this  entire 


BETHLEHEM  AND  BETHANY. 


141 


region.  The  houses  are  uniformly  of 
stone,  and  when  we  sought  to  approach 
the  Great  Church  of  the  Nativity,  we 
found  the  principal  streets  torn  up  in  the 
process  of  laying  down  sewers,  and  were 
obliged  to  get  down  and  go  on  foot. 
The  church  is  a  vast  and  complicated 
pile  of  buildings,  the  Latins  and  the  Ar- 
menians having  constructed  chapels  and 
monasteries  about  the  original  edifice, 
which  is  in  the  hands  of  the  orthodox 
Greek  communion.  Here,  as  in  Jerusa- 
lem, a  guard  of  Turkish  soldiers  con- 
stantly attends  in  the  entrance  of  the 
church  to  keep  the  disagreeing  sorts  of 
Christians  out  of  violent  quarrels  with 
each  other.  The  church  dates  back  to 
the  first  half  of  the  fourth  century.  The 
architecture  of  the  interior  is  simple, 
severe,  and  most  impressive  ;  but  some  of 
the  attached  chapels  are  crowded  with 
crucifixes,  lamps  of  gold  and  silver,  pic- 
tures and  tapestries    that  bewilder  the 

eye  with  their  variety  and  splendor. 
19 


142  £^  STERN  JO  URNE  YS. 

With  lighted  tapers  in  our  hands,  we 
descended  to  the  Chapel  of  the  Nativity. 
It  was  originally  a  cave,  and  a  staircase 
of  perhaps  fifteen  steps  leads  down  to  it. 
As  we  entered,  we  found  the  chapel  oc- 
cupied by  the  vesper  service  of  a  broth- 
erhood of  Franciscan  monks.  The  Su- 
perior, a  majestic  old  man,  was  officia- 
ting at  the  altar,  and  the  fraternity,  men 
of  all  ages,  knelt  upon  the  marble  floor. 
The  music  they  sang  was  noble,  and  the 
spirit  of  devotion  that  filled  the  scene 
was  irresistible.  Fortunate,  indeed,  are 
the  pilgrims  whose  few  hours  in  Bethle- 
hem are  made  memorable  by  an  accident 
so  delightful,  as  was  our  presence  at  the 
vespers  of  the  good  Franciscans. 

While  Bethlehem  more  than  met  our 
expectation,  Bethany  rather  proved  a 
disappointment.  It  is  an  insignificant 
and  decaying  little  hamlet,  lying  on  the 
eastern  slope  of  the  Mount  of  Olives, 
and  its  few  hundred  people  are  all  Mos- 
lems.    To  go  there,  the  most  convenient 


BETHLEHEM  AND  BETHANY. 


143 


method  is  to  drive  from  Jerusalem. 
After  you  reach  the  points  known  as  the 
grave  of  Lazarus  and  the  house  of  Mary 
and  Martha,  you  leave  the  carriage,  and 
make  the  rest  of  the  journey  over  the 
Mount  of  Olives  on  donkeys.  At  the 
western  foot  of  the  Mount  you  visit  the 
Garden  of  Gethsemane ;  and  then  you 
take  your  carriage  again  to  return  to  the 
city. 

While  we  know  that  Bethany  was  a 
favorite  place  of  retirement  with  Jesus, 
there  is  no  evidence  to  convince  us  that 
one  or  the  other  of  the  two  places  point- 
ed out  by  popular  tradition,  and  by  the 
guides  who  conduct  strangers,  was  ha- 
bitually resorted  to  by  Him :  and  no  re- 
ligious communion  has  adopted  either  of 
them  as  sacred  and  authentic.  Yet  as  a 
whole  Bethany  is  indisputably  connect- 
ed with  many  of  the  most  intimate  and 
impressive  occurrences  of  the  Gospel 
history ;  and  as  we  pass  slowly  up  its 
winding  and   neglected  alleys  upon  our 


144  EASTERN  JO URNE  YS, 

donkeys,  with  the  height  of  the  Mount 
before  us  and  the  clear  autumn  sky  of 
Syria  above,  the  mind  is  irresistibly  car- 
ried back  through  the  nineteen  centu- 
ries ;  and  the  persons  and  events  of  the 
ancient  days  seem  to  the  fancy,  and  al- 
most to  the  eye,  to  be  there  again  all  real 
and  living. 

And  so  we  move  forward  to  the  great 
Russian  church  on  the  summit,  with  the 
wonderful  outlook  from  its  porch  upon 
the  distant  valley  of  the  Jordan,  and  the 
blue  strip  of  the  Dead  Sea  which  it  re- 
veals, and,  beyond,  all  the  mountains  of 
Moab,  with  the  peak  of  Nebo,  whence 
Moses  beheld  the  Promised  Land  which 
he  might  never  enter.  And  then,  mount- 
ing our  donkeys  again,  we  go  down  the 
western  slope.  There  Jerusalem  is  be- 
fore us  and  the  mountains  of  Ephraim 
that  close  in  the  panorama  upon  the 
west,  while  at  the  foot  is  the  garden  of 
Gethsemane  with  its  bowed  and  vener- 
able cypresses  whose  age  is  counted  by 


BETHLEHEM  AND  BETHANY, 


145 


thousands  of  years ;  and  there  is  the 
gentle  and  engaging  old  Italian  monk 
who  tends  its  flower  beds  and  binds  up 
packages  of  seeds  for  strangers  to  carry 
away.  And  as  he  receives  the  douceur 
that  is  reached  toward  him,  "  It  is  for 
the  poor/*  he  says ;  *'  it  is  not  given  in 
payment.'* 

In  all  the  world  there  is  no  other  spot 
that  so  affects  the  thoughts  of  the  visitor, 
nor  any  human  narrative  that  can  touch 
the  heart  with  such  infinite  pathos  as  this 
of  the  Evangelist :  "  And  they  come  unto 
a  place  which  was  named  Gethsemane  : 
and  he  saith  unto  his  disciples,  *  Sit  ye 
here,  while  I  pray.'  And  he  taketh  with 
him  Peter  and  James  and  John,  and 
began  to  be  greatly  amazed,  and  sore 
troubled.  And  he  saith  unto  them,  '  My 
soul  is  exceeding  sorrowful  even  unto 
death ;  abide  ye  here,  and  watch.'  And 
he  went  forward  a  little,  and  fell  on  the 
ground,  and  prayed  that,  if  it  were  pos- 
sible, the   hour  might   pass   away   from 


146  EA  STERN  JO  URNE  YS, 

him.  And  he  said,  'Abba,  Father,  all 
things  are  possible  unto  thee ;  remove 
this  cup  from  me :  howbeit,  not  what  I 
will,  but  what  thou  wilt/  And  he  cometh 
and  findeth  them  sleeping  and  saith  unto 
Peter  :  *  Simon,  sleepest  thou  ?  Couldst 
thou  not  watch  one  hour?  Watch  and 
pray,  that  ye  enter  not  into  temptation : 
The  spirit,  indeed,  is  willing,  but  the  flesh 
is  weak/  And  again  he  went  away  and 
prayed,  saying  the  same  words.  And 
again  he  came,  and  found  them  sleep- 
ing, for  their  eyes  were  very  heavy, 
and  they  wist  not  what  to  answer  him. 
And  he  cometh  the  third  time,  and  saith 
unto  them,  *  Sleep  on  now,  and  take  )^our 
rest :  it  is  enough,  the  hour  is  come  ;  be- 
hold, the  Son  of  man  is  betrayed  into  the 
hands  of  sinners.  Arise,  let  us  be  going ; 
behold,  he  that  betrayeth  me  is  at  hand.* " 


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Marie  Antoinette  and  Count  Fersen  are  rescued  at  last  from  the  voluminous 
and  contradictory  representations  with  which  the  literature  of  that  period 
abounds,  it  would  be  enough  compensation  to  any  reader  to  become  ac- 
quainted with  the  true  delineations  of  two  of  the  most  romantically  tragic 
personalities." — Boston  Globe. 

n^HE  ROMANCE  OF  AN  EMPRESS.     Catharine  IT 
•*•       0/ Russia.    By  K.  Waliszewski.    With  Portrait.     i2mo. 
Cloth,  $2.00. 

"  Of  Catharine's  marvelous  career  we  have  in  this  volume  a  sympa- 
thetic, learned,  and  picturesque  narrative.  No  royal  career,  not  even  of 
some  of  the  Roman  or  papal  ones,  has  better  shown  us  how  truth  can  be 
stranger  than  fiction." — New  York  Times. 

"A  striking  and  able  work,  deserving  of  the  highest  praise." — Phila- 
delphia Ledger. 

**  The  book  is  well  called  a  romance,  for,  although  no  legends  are  ad- 
mitted in  it,  and  the  author  has  been  at  pains  to  present  nothing  but  verified 
facts,  the  actual  career  of  the  subject  was  so  abnormal  and  sensational  as  to 
seem  to  belong  to  fiction." — New  York  Sun. 

"A  dignified,  handsome,  indeed  superb  volume,  and  well  worth  care- 
ful reading." — Chicago  Herald. 

"It  is  a  most  wonderful  story,  charmingly  told,  with  new  material  to 
sustain  it,  and  a  breadth  and  temperance  and  consideration  that  go  far  to 
soften  one's  estimate  of  one  of  the  most  extraordinary  women  of  history." 
—New  York  Commercial  Advertiser. 

"The  perusal  of  such  a  book  can  not  fail  to  add  to  that  breadth  of  view 
which  is  so  essential  to  the  student  of  universal  history." — Philadelphia 
Bulletin.  

New  York  :  D.  APPLETON  &  CO.,  72  Fifth  Avenue. 


D.   APPLETON  &  CO.'S   PUBLICATIONS. 

r^ERMANY  AND  THE  GERMANS.  By  William 
^^  Harbutt  Dawson,  author  of  **  German  Socialism  and 
Ferdinand  Lassalle,"  "  Prince  Bismarck  and  State  Social- 
ism," etc.     2  vols.,  8vo.     Cloth,  $6.00. 

"This  excellent  work — a  literary  monument  of  intelligent  and  consci- 
entious labor — deals  with  every  phase  and  aspect  of  state  and  political 
activity,  public  and  private,  in  the  Fatherland.  .  .  .  Teems  with  enter- 
taining anecdotes  and  introspective  «/^rf«j  of  character. " — London  Tele^ 
graph. 

"  With  Mr.  Dawson's  two  volumes  before  him,  the  ordinary  reader  may 
well  dispense  with  the  perusal  of  previous  authorities.  .  .  ,  His  work,  on 
the  whole,  is  comprehensive,  conscientious,  and  eminently  fair." — London 
Chronicle. 

*'  There  is  scarcely  any  phase  of  German  national  life  unnoticed  in  his 
comprehensive  survey.  .  .  .  Mr.  Dawson  has  endeavored^  to  write  from  the 
view-point  of  a  sincere  yet  candid  well-wisher,  of  an  unprejudiced  observer, 
who,  even  when  he  is  unable  to  approve,  speaks  his  mind  in  soberness  and 
kindness." — Neiv  York  Sun, 

"  There  is  much  in  German  character  to  admire ;  much  in  Germany's 
life  and  institutions  from  which  Americans  may  learn.  William  Harbutt 
Dawson  has  succeeded  in  making  this  fact  clearer,  and  his  work  will  go  far 
to  help  Americans  and  Germans  to  know  each  other  better  and  to  respect 
each  other  more.  .  .  .  It  is  a  remarkable  and  a  fascinating  work." — Chicago 
Evening  Post. 

*'  One  of  the  very  best  works  on  this  subject  which  has  been  published 
up  to  date." — New  York  Herald. 

A  HISTORY  OF  GERMANY,  from  the  Earliest 
-^^  Times  to  the  Present  Day.  By  Bayard  Taylor.  With 
an  Additional  Chapter  by  Marie  Hansen-Taylor.  With 
Portrait  and  Maps.     i2mo.     Cloth,  $1.50. 

**  There  is,  perhaps,  no  work  of  equal  size  in  any  language  which  gives 
a  better  view  of  the  tortuous  course  of  German  history.  Now  that  the 
story  of  a  race  is  to  be  in  good  earnest  a  story  of  a  nation  as  well,  it  begins, 
as  every  one,  whether  German  or  foreign,  sees,  to  furnish  unexpected  and 
wonderful  lessons.  But  these  can  only  be  understood  in  the  light  of  the 
past.  Taylor  could  end  his  work  with  the  birth  of  the  empire,  but  the 
additional  narrative  merely  foreshadows  the  events  of  the  future.  It  may 
be  that  all  the  doings  of  the  past  ages  on  German  soil  are  but  the  introduc- 
tion of  what  is  to  come.  That  is  certainly  the  thought  which  grows  upon 
one  as  he  peruses  this  volume." — New  York  Tribune. 

*'  When  one  considers  the  confused,  complicated,  and  sporadic  elements 
of  German  history,  it  seems  scarcely  possible  to  present  a  clear,  continuous 
narrative.  Yet  this  is  what  Eayard  Taylor  did.  He  omitted  no  episode  of 
importance,  and  yet  managed  to  preserve  a  main  line  of  connection  from 
century  to  century  throughout  the  narrative." — Philadelphia  Ledger. 

**  Probably  the  best  work  of  its  kind  adapted  for  school  purposes  that 
can  be  had  in  English." — Boston  Herald. 

New  York :  D.  APPLETON  &  CO.,  72  Fifth  Avenue. 
20 


D.  APPLETON   AND   COMPANY'S   PUBLICATIONS. 

n^HE    PRIVATE    LIFE    OF    THE    QUEEN,     By 
-^       a  Member    of  the  Royal  Household.     Illustrated.     i2mo. 
Cloth,  $1.50. 

"  The  future  historian  will  value  *  The  Private  Life  of  the  Queen  '  be- 
cause it  is  in  a  sense  so  intimate.  The  contemporary  reader  will  find  it 
highly  interesting  for  the  same  reason.  ...  The  book  is  agreeably  written, 
and  is  certain  to  interest  a  very  wide  circle  of  readers." — Philadelphia 
Fress, 

**  The  author  writes  pleasantly,  and  the  book  is  interesting  in  that  it 
gives  the  reader  a  real  acquaintance  with  the  personality  and  private  life  of 
a  singularly  interesting  public  figure." — New  York  Sun. 

"  A  singularly  attractive  picture  of  Queen  Victoria.  .  .  .  The  interests 
and  occupations  that  make  up  the  Queen's  day,  and  the  functions  of  many 
of  the  members  of  her  household,  are  described  in  a  manner  calculated  to 
gratify  the  natural  desire  to  know  what  goes  on  behind  closed  doors  that 
very  few  of  the  world's  dignitaries  are  privileged  to  pass." — Boston  Herald. 

n^HE  LIFE   OF   HIS  ROYAL  HIGHNESS  THE 
■^      PRINCE  CONSORT.     By  Sir  Theodore  Martin.     In 
five  volumes,  each  with  Portrait.     i2mo.     Cloth,  $10.00. 

"  The  work  bears  the  impress  throughout  of  the  directing  mind  of  the 
Queen,  and  it  is  a  very  good  reflex  character — strong,  even  intense  in  her 
domestic  affections,  and  yet  with  a  decided  taste  and  liking  for  public 
affairs  and  the  duties  of  her  position."— 7,^^  Interior. 

"  A  full  and  impartial  biography  of  a  noble  and  enlightened  prince.  .  .  . 
Mr.  Martin's  work  is  not  gossipy,  not  light,  nor  yet  dull,  guarded  in  its 
details  of  the  domestic  lives  of  Albert  and  Victoria,  but  sufficiently  full  and 
familiar  to  contribute  much  interesting  information.  .  .  .  Will  well  repay  a 
careful  and  earnest  reading."— C/wVra^t?  Tribune. 

"  Although  the  work  was  prepared  especially  for  English  readers,  it  pos- 
sesses universal  interest,  and  will  find  a  place  m  many  private  libraries  on 
this  side  of  the  water." 

q-'HE  SOVEREIGNS  AND  COURTS  OF  EUROPE. 

■^  The  Home  and  Court  Life  and  Characteristics  of  the 
Reigning  Families.  By  "  Politikos."  With  many  Por- 
traits.    i2mo.     Cloth,  $1.50. 

"  A  remarkably  able  book.  ...  A  great  deal  of  the  inner  history  of 
Europe  is  to  be  found  in  the  work,  and  it  is  illustrated  by  admirable  por- 
traits."—  The  AthencBum. 

"  The  anonymous  author  of  these  sketches  of  the  reigning  sovereigns  of 
Europe  appears  to  have  gathered  a  good  deal  of  curious  information  about 
their  private  lives,  manners,  and  customs,  and  has  certainly  in  several  in- 
stances had  access  to  unusual  sources.  The  result  is  a  volume  which  fur- 
nishes views  of  the  kings  and  queens  concerned,  far  fuller  and  more  inti- 
mate than  can  be  found  elsewhere."— A^^w  York  Tribune. 


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D.   APPLETON   AND   COMPANY'S   PUBLICATIONS. 

n^HE  TRUE  LIFE  OF  CAPTAIN-  SIR  RICHARD 
•^       F,   BURTON,      Written  by  his  niece,   Georgiana    M. 
Stisted,  with  the  authority  and  approval  of  the  Burton 
family.     i2mo.     Cloth,  with  Portrait,  $2.00. 

**  Miss  Stisted  has  given  us  a  thoroughly  good  biography.  Though  a 
great  admirer  of  her  uncle,  she  does  not  conceal  his  weaknesses,  but  writes, 
in  the  main,  soberly  and  impartially  with  excellent  judgment.  She  has 
compressed  a  great  deal  into  a  small  volume,  not  confusing  us  with  too 
much  detail,  and  yet  describing  many  picturesque  incidents  and  scenes. 
Her  book  is  interesting  from  beginning  to  end.  Short  as  it  is,  we  get  from 
it  a  satisfactory  idea  of  the  story  and  personality  of  one  of  the  most  ex- 
traordinary men  of  his  time." — The  Nation. 

"  The  book  has  not  a  dull  line  in  it.  Detail,  anecdote,  comment,  and 
criticism  are  so  nicely  adjusted  that  the  story  never  flags." — Chicago  Even- 
ing Post. 

**  A  very  interesting  biography  of  a  very  remarkable  man." — New  York 
Mail  and  Express, 

n^HE    EARLY    CORRESPONDENCE    OF   HANS 
^       VON  BULOW,     Edited  by  his-  Widow.     Selected  and 

translated  by  Constance  Bache.    With  Portraits.    8vo. 

Cloth,  $4.50. 

**  The  book  is  valuable  in  furnishing  an  excellent  insight  into  the  mu- 
sical history  of  the  period,  and  to  the  astonishing  standard  which  the  musi- 
cian had  to  attain  before  even  recognition  was  assured  by  the  extremely 
critical  music-loving  class  of  that  time." — San  Francisco  Argonaut. 

**  As  a  mere  story  the  book  is  extremely  interesting,  while  as  a  psycho- 
logical as  well  as  a  musical  study  the  early  life  of  Hans  von  Billow,  as 
mirrored  forth  in  these  letters,  is  of  no  small  import." — New  York  Mail 
and  Express. 

"  This  volume  introduces  the  Von  Billow  not  known  to  the  present 
generation.  The  letters  are  free,  spontaneous,  and  unstudied,  exhibiting 
the  musician  struggling  to  make  what  he  knew  to  be  in  him  recognized  by 
the  public." — London  Daily  Chronicle. 

U STAVE  FLAUBERT,  as  seen  in  his  Works  and 
Correspondence,  By  John  Charles  Tarver.  With 
Portrait.     8vo.     Buckram,  $4.00. 

•'  It  is  surprising  that  this  extremely  interesting  correspondence  has  not 
been  Englished  before." — London  Athenceutn. 

*'  This  handsome  volume  is  welcome.  ...  It  merits  a  cordial  reception 
if  for  no  other  reason  than  to  make  a  large  section  of  the  English  public 
more  intimately  acquainted  with  the  foremost  champion  of  art  for  art's  sake. 
...  The  letters  are  admirably  translated,  and  in  the  main  the  book  is 
written  with  skill  and  verve." — London  Academy. 


G 


D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANY,  NEW  YORK. 


A 


D.  APPLETON   &   CO.'S   PUBLICATIONS. 


N  AIDE-DE-CAMP  OF  NAPOLEON,  Memoirs 
of  General  Count  de  Segur,  of  the  French  Academy, 
1800-1812.  Revised  by  his  Grandson,  Count  Louis  de 
Segur.    i2mo.     Cloth,  $2.00. 

"  We  say  without  hesitation  that  *  An  Aide-de-Camp  of  Napoleon  '  is 
the  book  of  memoirs  above  all  others  that  should  be  read  by  those  who  are 
anxious  to  see  Napoleon  through  the  eyes  of  one  of  tlie  many  keen  judges 
of  character  by  whom  he  was  surrounded." — London  Literary  World. 

"The  Count's  personal  story  of  adventure  is  so  thrilling,  and  his  oppor- 
tunities of  watching  Napoleon  were  so  constant  and  so  ably  utilized,  that 
his  work  deserves  honorable  mention  among  works  which  show  us  history 
in  the  making,  and  the  reaUties  as  well  as  tiie  romance  of  war." — London 
Daily  Telegraph. 

*'We  thank  the  publishers  for  this  translation  of  a  most  absorbing  book. 
The  story  of  Austerlitz  is  one  involving  so  much  genius  that  it  must  be  read 
as  a  whole— all  the  good  things  with  which  the  book  abounds." — London 
Daily  Chronicle. 

*'  The  historical  interest  is  undoubtedly  great.  De  S^gur's  account  of 
Napoleon's  plans  for  the  invasion  of  England  is  very  interesting." — London 
Tijnes. 

*'  No  recent  work  of  which  the  present  fashion  for  Napoleonic  literature 
has  witnessed  either  in  the  shape  of  translations  from  the  French  or  of 
original  monographs  on  his  famous  battles,  is  likely  to  interest  a  larger  class 
of  intelligent  readers  than  *  An  Aide-de-Camp  of  Napoleon.'  " — New  York 
Mail  and  Express. 

**  *  An  Aide-de-Camp  of  Napoleon  '  is  the  title  of  one  of  the  most  inter- 
esting of  the  many  works  which  have  been  published  concerning  the  career 
of  the  great  warrior." — New  York  Press. 

"The  memoirs  of  Count  de  S6gur  are  distinguished  by  all  the  Hght 
graces  that  can  polish  a  recital  and  impart  delicacy  to  a  narrative  without 
depriving  it  of  its  strength.  It  is  a  pleasure  to  peruse  this  well-written  memo- 
rial of  one  who  was  a  general  of  division,  peer  of  France,  and  Academician, 
and  who  lived  for  the  greater  part  of  a  century  a  brilliant  figure  in  war, 
politics,  and  letters."— Philadelphia  Public  Ledger. 

"  It  is  not  only  full  of  personal  reminiscence,  but  of  personal  adventure, 
and,  as  the  style  is  easy  and  admirable,  neither  conceited  nor  tedious,  it  is 
needless  to  say  that  the  result  is  exceedingly  interesting." — Boston  Com- 
jnercial  Bulletin. 

**  The  book  is  a  delightful  one,  not  only  for  its  clear,  flowing  style  and 
historical  interest,  but  for  the  entire  absence  of  anything  approaching  bom- 
bast or  straining  for  effect.  .  .  .  This  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  publica- 
tions that  the  Napoleonic  revival  has  given  us." — Cleveland  World. 

"Next  to  the  memoirs  of  the  private  secretary,  the  Baron  de  M^neval, 
issued  by  the  Appletons  a  year  ago,  this  volume  of  S6gur's  is  of  greatest  in- 
terest"— Rochester  Herald. 


New  York  :  D.  APPLETON  &  CO.,  72  Fifth  Avenue. 


D.  APPLETON   AND    COMPANY'S   PUBLICATIONS. 

n/TEMOIRS  OF  MARSHAL  OUDINOT,  Due  de 
-^'^  Reggio.  Compiled  from  the  hitherto  unpublished  sou- 
venirs of  the  Duchesse  de  Reggio  by  Gaston  Stiegler, 
and  now  first  translated  into  English  by  Alexander 
Teixeira  de  Mattos.  With  two  Portraits  in  HeUogravure. 
i2mo.     Cloth,  $2.00. 

**  The  *  Memoirs  of  Marshal  Oudlnot '  are  interesting  because  they  in- 
clude the  history  of  one  of  the  most  bnlliaut  periods  the  world  has  ever 
seen." — Chicago  Evening  Post. 

**  The  reading  of  this  charming,  vivacious,  and  accurate  book  makes  it 
a  continual  source  of  wonder  that  any  one,  at  this  day,  should  be  writing  a 
history  of  the  Napoleonic  era.  .  .  .  The  complete  unconsciousness  and 
the  exquisite  naturalness  of  the  style  are  charming." — New  York  Com- 
tnercial  A  dvertiser. 

*'  This  frankly  loyal  and  graphic  picturing  of  a  great  man's  true  charac- 
ter, seen  from  the  nearest  standpoints  by  a  biographer  of  wonderful  keen- 
ness, is  genuinely  refreshing.  Vivid  and  explicit  without  being  unduly 
sentimental,  it  is  a  book  distinctly  invaluable  to  and  actually  inseparable 
from  a  study  of  French  history."— Boston  Globe. 

**  It  is  for  the  side  lights  of  the  marshal's  life  that  this  book  is  chiefly 
valuable,  and  wonderfully  illuminating  they  are.  Besides,  there  is  a  never- 
ending  charm  in  the  freshness  of  the  narrative.  There  is  nothing  tliat  is  dull 
or  monotonous." — Chicago  Journal. 

"  Full  of  new  and  entertaining  material,  and  has  a  really  significant  his- 
torical value.  .  .  .  These  menioirs  are  noteworthy  for  their  gendeness  of 
tone  and  their  freedom  from  satire  and  vituperation.  They  deal  with  great 
events,  and  their  very  simplicity  and  unpretentiousness  are  evidence  ox 
their  incontestable  merit." — Boston  Beacon. 

"  The  story  of  this  gallant  soldier  is  of  strong  romantic  interest  and 
makes  excellent  reading,  while  the  side  lights  thrown  on  events  of  a  long 
period  marked  by  many  extraordinary  changes  are  vastly  interesting  and 
informing.  It  is  an  inspiring  and  thoroughly  delightful  volume.'* — Provi- 
dence News. 

*'  Few  French  commanders  were  more  popular,  both  with  rulers  and  with 
the  people.  The  eventful  story  of  his  life,  modestly  told,  is  charming  in 
interest." — Chicago  Inter-Ocean. 

**  The  pages  are  filled  with  illustrious  names  that  arouse  pleasant  or  un- 
pleasant memories,  and  the  reader  reads  eagerly  onward,  always  enter- 
tained, frequently  enlightened,  until  the  last  page  is  reached.  ...  It  will 
be  equally  welcomed  by  the  student  of  history  and  by  the  general  reader." 
— Boston  Saturday  Evening  Gazette. 

"  Amid  the  mass  of  French  memorial  writing  there  is  none  that  will  be 
found  more  attractive,  because  there  is  none  more  genuine  than  this 
record." — Chicago  Times-Herald. 

'*  An  extremely  interesting  addition  to  historical  biography.  .  .  .  These 
memoirs  relate  the  extraordinary  career  of  an  extraordinary  man.  ...  A 
complete  biography,  written  in  an  easy,  natural,  unpretentious  style." — 
Detroit  Free  Press. 


D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANY,  NEW  YORK. 


D.   APPLETON  &   CO.'S   PUBLICATIONS. 

"A/TEMOIRS  ILL USTRA  TING  THE  HISTOR  V  OF 
•^'^  NAPOLEON  /,  from  1802  to  1815.  By  Baron  Claude- 
FRANgois  DE  M^NEVAL,  Private  Secretary  to  Napoleon. 
Edited  by  his  Grandson,  Baron  Napoleon  Joseph  de 
M^NEVAL.  With  Portraits  and  Autograph  Letters.  In 
three  volumes.     Svo.     Cloth,  $6.00. 

**  The  Baron  de  M^neval  knew  Napoleon  as  few  knew  him.  He  was 
his  confidential  secretary  and  intimate  friend.  .  .  .  Students  and  historians 
who  wish  to  form  a  trustworthy  estimate  of  Napoleon  can  not  aiford  to  neg- 
lect this  testimony  by  one  of  his  most  intimate  associates." — London  News, 

"These  Memoirs,  by  the  private  secretary  of  Napoleon,  are  a  valuable 
and  important  contribution  to  the  history  of  the  Napoleonic  period,  and 
necessarily  they  throw  new  and  interesting  light  on  the  personality  and  real 
sentiments  of  the  emperor.  If  Napoleon  anywhere  took  off  the  mask,  it 
was  in  the  seclusion  of  his  private  cabinet.  The  Memoirs  have  been  re- 
published almost  as  they  were  written,  by  Baron  de  M^neval's  grandson, 
with  the  addition  of  some  supplementary  documents." — London  Times. 

"  Meneval  has  brought  the  living  Napoleon  clearly  before  us  in  a  por- 
trait, flattering,  no  doubt,  but  essentially  true  to  nature ;  and  he  has  shown 
us  what  the  emperor  really  was — at  the  head  of  his  armies,  in  his  Council  of 
State,  as  the  ruler  of  France,  as  the  lord  of  the  continent— above  all,  in  the 
round  of  his  daily  life  and  in  the  circle  of  family  and  home." — London 
A  cadetny. 

"Neither  the  editor  nor  translator  of  M^neval's  Memoirs  has  miscalcu- 
lated his  deep  interest— an  interest  which  does  not  depend  on  literary  style 
but  on  the  substance  of  what  is  related.  Whoever  reads  this  volume  will 
wait  with  impatience  for  the  remainder." — New  York  Tribune. 

"  The  work  will  take  rank  with  the  jnost  important  of  memoirs  relating 
to  the  period.  Its  great  value  arises  largely  from  its  author's  transparent 
veracity.  M6neval  was  one  of  those  men  who  could  not  consciously  tell 
anything  but  the  truth.  He  was  constitutionally  unfitted  for  lying.  .  .  . 
The  book  is  extremely  interesting,  and  it  is  as  important  as  it  is  interesting." 
— Neiv  York  Times. 

"  Few  memoirists  have  given  us  a  more  minute  account  of  Napoleon. 
.  .  .  No  lover  of  Napoleon,  no  admirer  of  his  wonderful  genius,  can  fail  to 
read  these  interesting  and  important  volumes  which  have  been  waited  for 
for  years." — Neiv  York  World. 

"  The  book  will  be  hailed  with  delight  by  the  collectors  of  Napoleonic 
literature,  as  it  covers  much  ground  wholly  unexplored  by  the  great  major- 
ity of  the  biographers  of  Napoleon." — Providence  Journal. 

*'M6neval  made  excellent  use  of  the  rare  opportunity  he  enjoyed  of 
studying  closely  and  at  close  range  the  personality  of  the  supreme  genius 
in  human  Mx^tory.^'  —Philadelphia  Press. 

"Of  all  the  memoirs  illustrating  the  history  of  the  first  Napoleon — and 
their  number  is  almost  past  counting— there  is  probably  not  one  which  will 
be  found  of  more  value  to  the  judicious  historian,  or  of  more  interest  to  the 
general  reader  than  these." — New  York  Independent. 


New  York:   D.  APPLETON  &  CO.,  72  Fifth  Avenue. 


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T  ITER  A  TURES  OF  THE  WORLD,  Edited  by 
-'-^  Edmund  Gosse,  Hon.  M.  A.  of  Trinity  College,  Cambridge. 
A  succession  of  attractive  volumes  dealing  with  the  history  of  literature 
in  each  country.  Each  volume  will  contain  about  three  hundred  and  fifty 
i2mo  pages,  and  will  treat  an  entire  literature,  giving  a  uniform  impression 
of  its  development,  history,  and  character,  and  of  its  relation  to  previous 
and  to  contemporary  work. 

Each,  i2mo,  cloth,  $1.50. 

NOW    READY. 

ANCIENT    GREEK   LITERATURE.     By  Gilbert 

"^^     Murray,  M.  A.,  Professor  of  Greek  in  the  University  of 

Glasgow. 

"  Mr.  Murray  has  produced  a  book  which  fairly  represents  the  best  con- 
clusions of  modern  scholarship  with  regard  to  the  Greeks." — London 
Times. 

T^RENCH  LITERATURE.     By    Edward  Dowden, 

■^        D.  C.  L.,  LL.  D.,    Professor  of  English    Literature  at  the 

University  of  Dublin. 

"Certainly  the  best  history  of  French  literature  in  the  English  lan- 
guage."— London  Athenceum. 

l\/rODERN    ENGLISH   LITERATURE,      By    the 

-^  '^    Editor. 

The  aim  of  this  informing  and  well-balanced  volume  is  to  show  the 
movement  of  English  literature,  and  to  give  the  reader  a  feeling  of  its  evo- 
lution, the  slow  unwinding  of  the  threads  of  literary  expression  down  suc- 
ceeding generations.  The  author  has  retained  the  character  of  a  historical 
survey  with  the  introduction  of  the  obvious  names,  but  he  has  kept  before 
him  expression,  form,  and  technique  as  the  central  interest. 

AMERICAN.  IN    PREPARATION. 

ITALIAN.  By  Richard  Garnett,  C.  B.,  LL.  D.,  Keeper  of  Printed 
Books  in  the  British  Museum. 

GERMAN'.  By  Dr.  C.  H.  Herford,  Professor  of  English  Literature  in 
the  University  of  Wales. 

HUNGARIAN  By  Dr.  Zoltan  BeOthy,  Professor  of  Hungarian  Lit- 
erature at  the  University  of  Budapest. 

LA  TIN.  By  Dr.  Arthur  Woolgar  Vbrrall,  Fellow  and  Senior  Tutor 
of  Trinity  College,  Cambridge. 

JAPANESE.  By  W.  G.  Aston,  C.  M.  G.,  M.  A.,  late  Acting  Secre- 
tary at  the  British  Legation  at  Tokio. 

MODERN  SCANDINA  VIAN.  By  Dr.  Geokg  Brandes,  of  Copen- 
hagen. 

SPANISH.  By  J.  Fitz  Maurice-Kelly,  Member  of  the  Spanish 
Academy. 

SANSCRIT.  By  A.  A  Macdonell,  M.  A.,  Deputy  Boden  Professor 
of  Sanscrit  at  the  University  of  Oxford. 

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NOW  READY. 

n^HE  BEGINNINGS  OF  ART.    By  Ernst  Grosse, 
-^       Professor  of  Philosophy    in  the   University  of  Freiburg. 
A  new  volume  in  the  Anthropological  Series,  edited  by  Pro^ 
fessor  Frederick  Starr.     Illustrated.     i2mo.     Cloth,  $1.75. 
**  This  book  can  not  fail  to  interest  students  of  every  branch  of  art,  while 
the  general  reader  who  will  dare  to  take  hold  of  it  will  have  his  mind  broad- 
ened and  enriched  beyond  what  he  would  conceive  a  work  of  many  times 
its  dimensions  might  effect." — Brooklyn  Eagle. 

rr/ OMAN'S    SHARE    IN    PRIMITIVE     CUL^ 
'^'^    TURE,    By  Otis  Tufton  Mason,  A.  M.,  Curator  of  the 
Department  of  Ethnology  in  the  United  States  National  Mu- 
seum.   With  numerous  Illustrations.    i2mo.    Cloth,  $1.75. 
**  A  most  interesting  rhuine  oi  the  revelations  which  science  has  made 
concerning  the  habits  of  human  beings  in  primitive  times,  and  especially  as 
to  the  place,  the  duties,  and  the  customs  of  women." — Philadelphia  In' 
quirer. 

HTHE  PYGMIES,  By  A.  de  Quatrefages,  late  Pro- 
•^  fessor  of  Anthropology  at  the  Museum  of  Natural  History, 
Paris.  With  numerous  Illustrations.  i2mo.  Cloth,  $1.75. 
**  This  book  ought  to  be  in  every  divinity  school  in  which  man  as  well 
as  God  is  studied,  and  from  which  missionaries  go  out  to  convert  the  human 
being  of  reality  and  not  the  man  of  rhetoric  and  text-books." — Boston 
Literary  World. 

n'HE    BEGINNINGS    OF    WRITING.     By  W.   J. 

"^  Hoffman,  M.  D.  With  numerous  Illustrations.  i2mo. 
Cloth,  $1.75. 
This  interesting  book  gives  a  most  attractive  account  of  the  rude  methods 
employed  by  primitive  man  for  recording  his  deeds.  The  earliest  writing 
consists  of  pictographs  which  were  traced  on  stone,  wood,  bone,  skins,  and 
various  paperlike  substances.  Dr.  Hoffman  shows  how  the  several  classes 
of  symbols  used  in  these  records  are  to  be  interpreted,  and  traces  the  growth 
of  conventional  signs  up  to  syllabaries  and  alphabets — the  two  classes  of 
signs  employed  by  modern  peoples. 

IN    PREPARATION. 
THE  SOUTH  SEA  ISLANDERS.     By  Dr.  SCHMELTZ. 
THE  ZUNI.    By  Frank  Hamilton  Gushing. 
THE  AZTECS.     By  Mrs.  Zelia  Nuttall. 


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